Getty John Tortorella on the bench of the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Philadelphia Flyers entered the 2024 season planning to put the first blocks of their upcoming rebuilding process in place. Turns out things went much better for them than they expected, so nothing should surprise Flyers fans anymore.
No, not even coach John Tortorella naming Sean Couturier team captain last February, only to make him a healthy scratch on Tuesday, March 19, and then again two days later on Thursday, March 21.
Asked by The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz for his initial reaction to this development, former NHL forward Jody Shelley could only say one word: “Wow.”
Shelley, who played for Tortorella in 2010 as a member of the New York Rangers and then coached along with him in Columbus, said that “Tortorella knows what (the Flyers) need,” even though the coach has offered no explanation for scratching the 20th captain in Flyers history.
Couturier was a healthy scratch from a game for the first time this season on Tuesday, March 19, after appearing in 64 games before that matchup. The forward was named the captain of the team a little over a month before that game and he’s scored 11 goals to go with 25 assists for a combined 36 points this season.
Per statastician Guillaume Villemaire’s research, Couturier became the first captain to be a healthy scratch since Ed Jovanovski in the 2014 season.
Sean Couturier tonight is the first captain in the @NHL to be healthy scratched since Ed Jovanovski in 2013-14
(Excluding when players are rested in the last few games of a season)
Although Couturier has had a bit of a rough spell since suffering an undisclosed injury in January 2024, he’s still one of the better and more productive players on Philadelphia’s roster, ranking sixth in points among his teammates and having the fifth-most assists for the team.
Talking to reporters after the game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, March 19, Tortorella refused to answer any question related to Couturier.
Before the decision became official, Couturier told reporters heading into the game that he had no clue what he needed to do to get back on the lineup.
“I have gotten the same answers as you guys; ‘Just need to see more,'” Couturier said. “Still looking to find out what that is. I’m trying every game. It’s not like I’m just sitting around or doing nothing.”
Tortorella, an Old-School Coach With Old-School Methods
Tortorella is known as an old-school type of coach who doesn’t have any sacred cows in his locker room, no matter the stature of the players under his guidance. Couturier could very well be one of those players considering he was the 2020 Selke Trophy winner. Not that it helped him here.
Couturier’s agent Erik Lupien spoke to Kurz for another story published March 20 after the first scratching. He said Couturier “was clueless about his ice time, why his ice time went down.”
Even then, and according to Lupien, Couturier told him, “I’m just going to manage and play whatever he maybe wants me to play. If it’s 14 minutes, it’s going to be 14 minutes.”
Then, when Couturier was left in the stands for the game against the Maple Leafs, nobody knew what was going on or why that had happened.
“When I saw the news, I’m like, ‘I really hope the communication and the reasons why are really clear. I hope he’s going to get an explanation soon because [Couturier] is the captain, a leader of the team and he has Philadelphia tattooed on his chest since he got drafted’,” Lupien said.
Couturier’s agent also revealed that the player had always told him that “Tortorella and him had a pretty good relationship,” adding “Sean won’t learn anything by being in the bleachers [on Tuesday]. He’s not a second-year pro that went through a cold streak. Sean is a leader and the captain of this team.”
Philadelphia Might Need Couturier Back Sooner Rather Than Later
Following Couturier’s benching the Flyers defeated the Maple Leafs 4-3 but then lost their next game against the the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 in overtime two days after that.
Philadelphia is currently occupying the No. 3 seed in the NHL Metropolitan Division with 79 points through 70 games, although the Washington Capitals’ 77 points in 69 games should be a reason for concern in Philadelphia’s headquarters.
While the Flyers have put together a 4-4-2 record in their last 10 games, the Capitals are a better 6-4-0 in the same span. The series between both franchises is currently tied at one apiece. A third and final game between Washington and Philadelphia is scheduled for April 17, one day before the end of the regular season.
There is still a lot of hockey left to play between now and then, but it’s fair to say that matchup could decide who makes it to the Stanley Cup Playoffs and who misses out.