On Feb. 14, the Philadelphia Flyers announced they’d be filling their two-season vacancy at the captain spot after forward Claude Giroux departed in 2021-22. Their 20th captain was a long-time teammate of his, Sean Couturier.
In the middle of the season, the Flyers made a seemingly out-of-nowhere move to give Couturier the ‘C’. However, it’s been a long time coming for the 31-year-old veteran. Starting his tenure with the Orange and Black as a teenager in 2011-12 and spending his entire career in Philadelphia, he’s been with the team through thick and thin.
Who Is Sean Couturier?
Couturier, drafted eighth overall in 2011, has been a dominant two-way center essentially since he started his career. From 2011-2017, he was utilized for his defensive abilities and gradually worked his way up the lineup. The offensive production never really hit for him early on, but he was a valuable piece for the team nonetheless. He was a Selke Trophy candidate almost every season towards the latter half of that timeline, so it was only right that they kept giving him chances to find his offense. When he did, it became evident that he was invaluable.
In 2017-18, Couturier reached 76 points in 82 games, never having 40 points ever before that point. From there, he became recognized as one of the stars in the NHL. To cap it off, he finished second in Selke Trophy voting. He had another great season in 2018-19, repeating his 76-point total from the season before, and finished sixth in Selke Trophy voting. But, eight seasons into his career, he had Selke votes in all but one of them yet had nothing to show for it. That was about to change soon.
In 2019-20, Couturier finally won the Selke Trophy as the NHL’s best defensive forward, putting up 59 points in 69 games to go along with that. By this point, he was arguably the best player on the team and was still just 27 years of age. He didn’t win the Selke Trophy the next season but did put up 41 points in 45 games, proving once again that he had unlocked his offensive potential. For that, he earned an eight-year contract worth $7.75 million annually.
Unfortunately, his next two campaigns did not go well for him. In 2021-22, Couturier only had 17 points in 29 games and suffered a season-ending injury less than midway through it. To make matters worse, he missed the entire 2022-23 season, and the Flyers suffered as a result. His club traded playoff berths and misses every single season of his career, but, without him, they were lost.
The Flyers took on a rebuilding mindset for the 2023-24 season, but with him now healthy, he has had other plans. At the time of being named captain, his team is 29-19-6 sitting in third place in the Metropolitan Division despite the team being projected by many to finish dead last in the division. Couturier has had a big part in that, playing excellent defensively and sitting on 33 points in 50 games despite coming off of long-term injuries.
With Couturier now captain, it likely means that he won’t be traded anytime soon to try and help gain draft capital or prospects. He is cemented as a leader of the team, which likely means he will be a Flyer for even longer. With 771 games under his belt at the time he was named captain, he is fifth on the all-time leaderboard in that department and could chase first, held by Bobby Clarke at 1,144 contests played.