Philadelphia Flyers captain Sean Couturier will be a healthy scratch against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Philadelphia Flyers captain Sean Couturier will be a healthy scratch against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Philadelphia Flyers captain Sean Couturier will be a healthy scratch against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Couturier's game this season has not been exactly where he, or head coach John Tortorella, has wanted it to be, as evidenced by the fact that Couturier has been dropped down to the fourth line and has seen a sharp decline in his ice time. In this season alone, he's had more games with under 13 minutes of ice time than in his previous six seasons combined.
Tortorella famously runs a merit-based system when it comes to who gets a spot in the lineup. In his post-practice press conference on Monday, he bluntly stated that he "doesn't care who you are" when it comes to giving and taking away chances to play. All season, he's made it clear that any player who wants to be a regular fixture needs to earn it. The bright side is that they can get the opportunity any time their coach deems them worthy. The downside is that they can get demoted any time their coach deems it necessary.
"I'm coaching 20 guys, not just one or two or three," he said. "Those are the decisions I have to make...And the people I have slotted and given more minutes as we've gone through here, I think deserve it."
It's a statement decision indeed to scratch the team captain, but Tortorella was blunt in his assessment of Couturier: "I think there's a number of players—him being one—that need to be better."
The captain himself admits that it's been "tough" dealing with his role change in the lineup, and admits to having his hardships lately, but hasn't been shying away from putting in the work to improve.
"I've been putting the work in for a while," he said. "I've been struggling, but I've been working on my game, and it's frustrating the way I've been treated around here lately, but it is what it is."
It's a controversial move, but Tortorella gave a simple solution to how Couturier—and any other player, for that matter—can get back in his good graces.
"It's the old chicken and the egg—'give me more ice time and I'll show you,'" he said. "I give plenty of ice time. There's no special answer; you've got to play better, whether it's 10 minutes, it's 17-18 minutes, I don't care if it's seven minutes. You've gotta give me something to hang my hat on to keep on trying to earn more ice time."
Speaking after morning skate on Tuesday, Couturier confirmed that he has "somewhat" spoken with his head coach about the decision, adding, "I control what I can control, it is what it is, and I'm gonna move on...It doesn't matter what I think. I've gotta leave my ego aside, I guess. Hopefully I can get back into it soon."
On if he's gotten specific direction from Tortorella on how he can get back into a more favorable lineup position, Couturier said that he didn't have a more specific answer than anybody else has gotten.
"I've gotten the same answer as [the media]—that [Tortorella] just needs to see more," he said. "I'm trying every game. It's not like I'm just sitting around and doing nothing. I felt like the last couple of games with the limited ice time I've been getting, I've been doing alright. But I guess we're going with the best lineup available tonight to get a win, so it is what it is."
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