John Tortorella announced Thursday that star centre Sean Couturier has unfortunately stopped skating as he is not ready to ramp up his workload yet. His timetable to return is still indefinite with him now not expected back anytime soon. The 29-year-old has 460 points (180G/280A) through his first 721 career games.
Shortly after Couturier said that he was good-to-go for training camp after back surgery in February, the Flyers announced that he's week-to-week with an upper-body injury. The Flyers are hopeful that Couturier will be able to return in 6-to-8 weeks, but if it doesn't, surgery would be required.
Couturier underwent season-ended back surgery on February 11th but is set to open training camp with the Flyers this week. 2022 was the worst point-per-game (0.59) season for Couturier since 2017. Couturier will serve as the Flyers' No.1 centre, but without a quality complement of wingers, a return to 60 points may be a little more difficult than it was for him from 2018-to-2020.
Couturier has been sidelined since December 18th and with the Flyers pretty far off of the pace, they've elected to shut Couturier down for the rest of the season. He finishes with six goals and 11 assists (17 points) in 29 games. According to Flyers' GM Chuck Fletcher, Couturier will need three months to recover and will healthy to start the 2022-23 season.
Couturier was the only active player added to the COVID-19 protocol list on Sunday but three more players joined him on Monday. The Flyers could get Kevin Hayes and Morgan Frost back ahead of Wednesday's game in Seattle, which would obviously help offset the loss of their No.1 centre.
Couturier was a surprise scratch on Saturday but head coach Alain Vigneault said that he "looks good for [Monday]" vs. the Islanders. If Couturier plays, look for Carsen Twarynski to come out of the lineup.
Couturier has been out since January 15th but was a full participant in Saturday's practice and may be available for Sunday's afternoon game. Head coach Alain Vigneault said that Couturier is close but wouldn't commit to him playing Sunday.
Couturier was forced to leave Friday's game with a mid-body injury and did not return. An MRI on Saturday revealed a Costochondral separation, which sounds horribly painful (Google it). Missing two weeks will cost Couturier at least the next seven games. While this is a brutal blow for the Flyers they have some of the best centre depth in the NHL and are built to withstand this loss.
Couturier was forced to leave Friday’s win over the Penguins with a shoulder injury and will get an MRI on Sunday to reveal the severity of the damage. The Flyers are off until Monday, so he may not miss time if it isn’t too serious but expect the Flyers to provide an update in the next 48 hours.
Couturier was hurt in a collision with Mathew Barzal late in the second period and did not return for the third. Head coach Alain Vigneault did not have an update on Couturier's status on Wednesday but said that he was "still being evaluated." Consider Couturier a game-time decision for Game 6.
Couturier's status for Sunday's game is up in the air so the Flyers recalled Joel Farabee from Lehigh Valley (AHL) as insurance. If Couturier can't play, Claude Giroux will move to centre and Farabee will draw into the lineup.
