On Wednesday, Feb. 14, the Philadelphia Flyers announced that center, Sean Couturier, would be the 20th captain in franchise history. Couturier is the Flyers first captain since Claude Giroux, who left the team in 2022, leaving the position vacant for two years.

Couturier’s resumé is extremely impressive as he was selected with the eighth overall pick in 2011 to the Flyers. Since then, he has had 493 points (191 goals, 302 assists) in just 771 regular season games. He also has had 22 points in the 39 playoff games that he has played in as well, certainly not a bad number on his part. Couturier is one of the best defensive forwards in the NHL and has been for the last decade. His great defensive play even earned him a Selke Trophy in 2020.

Despite the great stats, many Flyers fans wanted the team to select Travis Konecny to be their captain. After all, Konecny is a veteran, was an All-Star this season, and is maybe the best player on the team. However, Flyers general manager, Danny Briere, is sticking with his decision.

As the general manager and head coach, praise their own decision on the matter, Couturier knows that he is going to have to take on the challenge of the being the Flyers captain.

As Philadelphia looks to continue their surprising playoff push, Couturier will be taking on the role of the back bone for this young and electric team.