FILADÉLFIA | Sean Couturier already etched his name on the Frank J. Selke Trophy in 2020, but he probably got his biggest reward early this season. He returned to play hockey after two back surgeries and an absence of 663 days.
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Couturier had the smile of a happy man in the Flyers’ locker room on Tuesday, at the team’s training center in Voorhees, New Jersey, about 20 kilometers from Philadelphia.
While Jamie Drysdale’s arrival dominated the conversation, the 31-year-old center returned to his long journey through the desert, not playing since December 18, 2021, before the Flyers’ season opener on October 12th.
“It was long,” he sighed. There were ups and downs. I thought about coming back to the game last year, early in the season, after my first back surgery. But ended up needing a second operation. I thought about coming back during the season, but hit a wall again. I found it difficult. The path was very long. I never wanted to give up and remain positive seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.”
“When I found out that I needed a second operation, I started to question myself. But I didn’t want to give up. That wasn’t an option. After the first operation, I thought everything was fine. However, I still had symptoms when I trained. That bothered me. I needed a second one. The questions were there, but I didn’t want to give up.”
The Tortorella franchise
Couturier never gave up, to use his own words. Even if he sometimes tended to irritate John Tortorella last season.
“I’m very impressed with Sean,” Tortorella said first. I wasn’t sure where he would be when he started playing again. Before starting to play again, he was a pain in my ass. He complained about everything, just unhappy because he wasn’t playing.
“Like all athletes, he wanted to play. In the first days after his return, I looked at him and found him terribly slow,” continued the colorful coach. But I finally realized that he wasn’t that slow.”
“I have a lot of respect for him. When you work for another team and watch a player from another team, you know he’s a good player, but you don’t know him. Now I have the opportunity to get to know him every day. I know the intangibles he brings to our team. I am very, very happy to see him healthy again and I am also delighted with his level of play. I am surprised to see that he learned several things quickly, but there is still more to learn. And Sean knows that.”
Still improving
Couturier smiles when we tell him what his coach said about him.
“I was never the fastest on the ice,” he answered. I recovered my skating level and my speed, but above all my anticipation, my positioning and my sense of the game. In finishing and skills, there is still a level missing. Yes, I lost two years. But I’m also practically coming back to a new team. There are maybe five or six players left from two years ago.”
Photo credit: Getty Images via AFP
“I was impatient and felt frustration when I didn’t play,” he continued. Wrong, I didn’t talk to him often, maybe two or three times. He often needed to put me in order, it wasn’t very positive. But I didn’t want to be just a player who comes back from injury and ends the contract. I wanted to come back at the same level, if not better. I still have great seasons ahead.”
Good numbers
Strictly in terms of statistics, Couturier has not slowed down with 27 points (10 goals, 17 assists) in 38 games. He is also the most used forward by Tortorella with an average playing time of 19 minutes and 54 seconds.
“Sean has a great influence on the success of our team,” said Daniel Brière. When you add an impact center to your lineup, who can play in all situations and counterattack the best players from the opposing team, that makes a big difference. We don’t need to bet on a young center against the other team’s best center.”
Brière and the Flyers also need to breathe better watching Couturier on the ice. He will earn an average of 7.75 million until the end of the 2029-2030 season. But if he maintains the pace, it will be a good investment.