One of the only real takeaways that is reasonable to glean from that horrific home opener? Sean Couturier might already be in John Tortorella’s doghouse, and unlike last year’s late season demotion, this feels even more premature and ridiculous. For one, the Flyers captain has actually had a decent start to the season, at least if we are looking at underlying statistics. He may not be filling up the scoresheet, but who is right now? Is it really the right move to bench the captain that was named to the role about eight months ago?
There are few different considerations here, but let’s first set the stage with what happened last year.
The events of the 2023-24 season
John Tortorella gave Couturier the captaincy on Feb. 14, and it’s been all downhill since then. In the first half of the 2023-24 season, Couturier made a hero’s return from major injury and performed to a much-higher level than anyone could have expected, as Tortorella saddled the former Selke winner with high minutes and responsibilities in the first half – and the player did quite well.
So, it really was a tale of two seasons for Couturier, and being named to the captaincy more or less divides the two sides. Now, it was also very much a tale of two seasons for the Flyers as well post Valentine’s Day, as the team was decimated by injuries, the removal of Carter Hart, and the eventual Sean Walker trade in early March. Couturier was definitely part of the bad, and I don’t think we need to harp on that. At the time, it was reasonable to bench a player that was playing at the level that Couturier was playing at, taking the contextual circumstances out of it. Prior to February, from a pure scoring standpoint, Couturier registered 31 points in 46 games, a respectable rate for a 31-year old returning from major surgery. But, during February and the remainder of the season? Couturier was only good for 7 points in the final 28 games of the season. A dismal mark for anyone, let alone a player like Couturier.
But, if we take the contextual circumstances into account, the scratchings and demotions of Couturier were strange even then. There’s an argument to be made that at this point in his career, Sean Couturier needs rest periodically if the Flyers are ever going to see the best player that Couturier can be. That best-case scenario may not be in the cards anymore, regardless of Couturier needing rest or not, and he could just be cooked. Still, the Flyers resting Couturier could have been a respectable way to go about things last spring. Instead, Tortorella chose to frame it as a benching, moreso a punishment to Couturier than anything. That was purposeful, and ultimately a bit confusing when we consider Couturier’s reputation and cache within the Flyers organization. The tweet below from Micah Blake McCurdy sums up this dynamic fairly well, and sets the stage for what’s happened in the early goings of this season.
An early demotion this season
On Saturday night, Couturier was moved to the fourth line, an already surprising move from Tortorella in the home opener. Even more surprisingly, he was moved to the wing, a position the Selke-winning forward hasn’t really played at all in the NHL beyond trading spots with Claude Giroux while they were linemates. And somehow, to top it all off, it was Couturier’s 800th game in the league, and first home opener as Flyers captain. Yet again, the decision is a clear message to the player from the head coach, in a game that likely had some personal meaning to Couturier.
If the message was simply that Couturier needs to be better, we’ll be one of the first to say that we’re confused by that sentiment from Tortorella. Couturier may not be filling up the scoresheet with only one assist thus far, but he’s been perfectly adequate by underlying metrics thus far. Per Evolving Hockey, Couturier has earned an on-ice shot attempt share of 50.58% and 49.87% of the expected goals share — essentially break-even metrics while the rest of the team has been getting obliterated at even strength. It is only Couturier, Travis Konecny, and the one-game example of Noah Cates, that has been able to be above the 50 percent threshold when it comes to on-ice shot attempt share at 5-on-5. And meanwhile, other centers like Morgan Frost, who is getting plenty of opportunity, is struggling with just 41.92% of the shot attempt share while he’s on the ice.
So, it’s not like Couturier has been so bad to deserve this level of Torts treatment. As a fan base (and seemingly as a coaching staff), there needs to be an understanding that Couturier is probably never going to be the player he once was – but he can still be a darn good one in the NHL. He might simply be a mid to lower-end second-line or even a solid third-line center at this point, but the Flyers must put him in advantageous positions to be that guy.
He’s not even playing on the penalty kill, something he should thrive at even with a diminished skillset. There is probably no one, outside of Michkov, who sees the game to the level that Couturier does on this roster. He hasn’t lost his brain nor his defensive instincts, so not putting him on the kill is puzzling. And on top of that, he’s also not receiving power play minutes, making him the only forward in the top-nine who is seeing no time on special teams. He’s never been an exceptional power play guy, and he won’t rack up points on the kill, but where is Couturier supposed to make an impact when he’s put in this position?
And maybe it’s just all about preference at this point. There has been this idea that the Flyers really want speed down the middle, and Couturier obviously is not able to provide that at this point in his career. But, yet again, that’s an arguable miscalculation of the situation and the value that Couturier can still provide. Sure, it would be fun to have only fast centers down the middle, but the reality is the Flyers are saddled with an unmovable contract in Couturier right now. There’s a way to make it work, and right now, the Flyers are not putting Couturier or the team in the right situations to maximize what he’s got left in the tank. Think guys like late-career Jordan Staal, and we’re thinking more realistically about the value that Couturier has.
For as accountable the culture claims to be, it appears that it’s now going too far with Couturier, and Tortorella and the fanbase might be being too hard on the veteran forward. To me, miscalculating how and when to push the “bench captain” button could prove to be fatal for Tortorella’s tenure here, especially if the early season slump turns into something much more. By all accounts, Couturier is really well liked in the Flyers organization and among his teammates, evidenced by his captain title. Benching a captain is a nuclear option, and while Torts didn’t quite go as far to bench him this time around, a fourth-line wing demotion is pretty darn close. And not to get ahead of ourselves, but I’m sure he’s going to push the button again, and we’ll be having this conversation to an even greater magnitude in the near future.
