Ken Campbell discusses why the Flyers should not opt for losing as the young team sits in a playoff spot. Sean Couturier [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjA0MzUyOTEwNzgyMzc1NzEy/usatsi_22249206_168400847_lowres.jpg] Sean Couturier The Philadelphia Flyers named Sean Couturier their 20th captain in franchise history on Wednesday. Couturier is the Flyers' first captain since the team traded Claude Giroux in March 2022. The 31-year-old center is in his 12th season with the Flyers, 13 years after being drafted eighth overall by Philadelphia in 2011. Scott Laughton remains an alternate captain, and Travis Konecny receives the 'A' for the first time in his career. "Sean Couturier is an ideal choice to be the next leader of the Philadelphia Flyers," Flyers GM Daniel Briere said in a team news release [https://www.nhl.com/flyers/news/flyers-name-sean-couturier-20th-captain-in-franchise-history]. "Sean was drafted here and has made Philadelphia his home. I have personally seen his development from a responsible forward to one of the best two-way centermen in the game and a playoff performer. The adversity he has had to overcome has only strengthened his proven leadership. In this New Era of Orange with (Flyers CEO) Dan Hilferty, (hockey operations president) Keith Jones and (coach) John Tortorella at the helm, we couldn't be more proud to call him captain." Couturier said he plans to keep things business as usual in how he approaches the game and his leadership. “It’s such a great honor. It’s a really prestigious organization so this makes it even more special,” Couturier said in the release. “This city is my home, and I love it here.” As Siobhan Nolan writes on The Hockey News' Philadelphia Flyers site [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers/news/flyers-name-their-new-leadership-group], Couturier's career future was uncertain when he missed the 2022-23 season while recovering from multiple back surgeries. Before this season, the last game he played was in December 2021. “There were times where it was tough, but it was never an option to quit,” he told NHL.com [https://www.nhl.com/news/sean-couturier-back-from-injuries-for-flyers-after-22-month-absence] last October before the season opener. The Phoenix native continued his NHL career with 11 goals, 22 assists and 33 points in 50 games so far this campaign. He also averages the second most ice time per game among Flyers forwards, with 19:44. The two-way center, who won the Selke Trophy as the NHL's top defensive forward in 2020, is tied for the team lead in takeaways, with 37, and he's won 53.1 percent of his 1,030 faceoffs taken. In 771 career NHL regular-season games, which are the fifth-most in franchise history, Couturier has 191 goals, 302 assists and 493 points. He's made the playoffs with Philadelphia on five occasions, recording 10 goals and 22 points in 39 games. Wednesday evening's news comes three nights before Philadelphia takes on the New Jersey Devils at MetLife Stadium for the NHL Stadium Series. The Flyers entered the season as a rebuilding team, but they sit third in the Metropolitan Division with 64 points, six ahead of the Devils. Should they hang onto a playoff position, they'd make the post-season for the first time since the COVID-19-affected "bubble" playoffs in 2020. As Couturier dons the 'C' on his jersey, beginning on Thursday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs, it's all about keeping the pace. “I love my teammates, how we have grown as a group, and I want to make sure we keep going on the right path here.”
