The captain and veteran leader of the Philadelphia Flyers, Sean Couturier, is feeling like everyone else these days: tired of losing and ready to battle for something meaningful.
Couturier, 32, experienced a personal resurgence last season, quietly amassing 45 points in 79 games whilst bouncing around in different roles for different coaches.
But, with Matvei Michkov getting his first taste of life in the NHL, the additions of Trevor Zegras, Christian Dvorak, and Dan Vladar, and, more generally, the younger players taking another step forward, Couturier is ready to see more from the Flyers.
In a recent appearance on 94 WIP SportsRadio, Couturier took a moment to convey some of his thoughts and expectations for the coming season.
"It's been a while that we've had some big hype and and some really high expectations," Couturier said. "I really feel that things are starting to turn around. I know it's been a rebuild these last couple of years. It's exciting to see, finally, these young guys come into their own and filling out their potential.
"I'm tired of losing and I want to be back in the playoffs and play some huge games. There's nothing better than playing playoff hockey in front of Philly fans. So, really looking forward to that."
To make the playoffs for the first time since the 2019-20 season, Couturier and the Flyers are going to have to improve across the board.
In 2024-25, the Flyers scored the third-fewest goals in the Eastern Conference (238) and allowed the third-most (286). Their -48 goal differential only slightly trailed the Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins (tied, -50).
But, Couturier and the players on the ice won't be the only change looking forward to.
New head coach Rick Tocchet, a Flyers franchise legend just one year removed from winning the Jack Adams Award, will get to iterate the Orange and Black in his own vision in the upcoming season.
"It's going to be fun. Really looking forward to learn from him, and he's got quite the resume as a player, and as a coach he's done quite well for himself as well," Couturier said of Tocchet. "There's a lot of things to learn from, and he knows what it takes to win it. He relates really well to his players just from the fact that he's played the game and had quite some success as a player."
Of course, some coaching decisions, including a bizarre benching of Couturier, accentuated the Flyers' otherwise non-descript regular season campaigns the last two seasons, so Tocchet's arrival will be a breath of fresh air in more ways than one.
But will it amount to anything in Year 1?
That remains to be seen, but Couturier certainly hopes so, and many fans do as well.
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