Flyers Exit Interviews: Couturier and York on Tortorella, Konecny, Hathaway

Friday was the start of exit interviews for the Flyers, and 12 players spoke to the media following the completion of the 2024-25 season. Right at the forefront of that was Flyers captain Sean Couturier, who was recently quoted in an exclusive interview with RG Media, saying that his relationship with former Flyers head coach John Tortorella was “alright.”

“I think throughout the last year and a half and what was portrayed in the media—yeah, there wasn’t much of a relationship, I would say,” Couturier said to RG Media. “We didn’t see eye-to-eye on a lot of things, and it was hard, but I just tried to work with him and do what’s best for the team because that’s my job as the captain.”

On Friday, Couturier was asked about those comments and if there was a lack of a relationship between the captain and former bench boss.

“Yeah. I would say so, yeah,” Couturier said.

When asked if Couturier felt like he was starting to be phased out in a time where the front office was subtracting more than adding, Couturier elaborated.

“If you look at the minutes and stuff, I think it tells you how I was kind of maybe being pushed aside,” Couturier said. “It is what it is. Didn’t agree with the way I was getting pushed aside. But just trying to not be a distraction and keep my mouth shut, put in the extra effort to try to get back to where I should be. 

“A lot of it is on me too. At times, I needed to play better. But yeah, it’s behind us now. Moving forward, whoever’s here we’ll be buying in and doing whatever we can to get back in the winning column and getting back to playoffs.”

Couturier was also asked if he ever got more of an explanation of what Tortorella was looking for in his game. Couturier didn’t have an answer, but did acknowledge that the playing style may not have been a complete fit for him..  

“I think if you look at the way he wanted us to play, it was fast, speed, quick on pucks. It’s maybe not fully my type of game,” Couturier said. “If you look at my career, I was never the fastest guy, but I still found a way to be first on the puck. I think that’s maybe the reason.”

Another player that felt the ire of Tortorella was Cam York. As things came to a head in March, it was reportedly a confrontation between York and Tortorella that aiding in the coach’s demise. York also sat out an entire game while sitting on the bench as a consequence.

York expressed the feeling that he didn’t have much room for error in his game, adding that while there were certainly differences between him and Tortorella, there was also a lot left to be desired from his game.

“I don’t think I had necessarily much of a leash, but, at the end of the day, I didn’t play to the level that I can,” York said. “I think that’s probably the most frustrating thing for me. You can say all you want about me and the coach, but I didn’t do my part and didn’t play good enough on my end. That’s kind of how I look at that.”

York was one of the few defensemen that never really got a look on a power play that struggled for most of the season. York seemed to indicate that the opportunity was never in play, and that he could “feel it” early in the season that his role and playing time had been defined away from the man-advantage.

Konecny: ‘I Was Just Drained and It Took a Lot Out of Me’

At the halfway point of the season, Travis Konecny was on his way to a career year. In some ways, he still achieved that.

Through 41 games, Konecny had 20 goals, a 40-goal pace, and had 45 points total. In the final 41 games, Konecny scored just four goals to finish with 24 on the season, well below the 30-goal mark he had reached in the previous two seasons. However, Konecny did set a new career-high in assists with 52 and points with 76, picking up another 31 points in the final 41 games.

But the goal scoring took a hit, and it felt like Konecny had to be dealing with something. Konecny made clear on Friday that he wasn’t battling injury, but poured a lot into trying to make the 4 Nations roster for Team Canada and it had an impact on his game when play resumed in late February.

“No, I wasn’t dealing with anything. I think the push that I was making to try to get on that 4 Nations team at the start of the year, I think by the end of that, I was just drained and it took a lot out of me,” Konecny said. “Then once the play started to go down, it just snowballs and you start getting in your own head. That’s just something on the mental side of things I got to take care of.”

The Flyers played 25 games after the 4 Nations break. Konecny had two goals and 13 assists in that time for 15 points. Konecny is focused on avoiding that kind of letdown after that kind of tournament.

“If we were in a better spot, a playoff push, it wouldn’t have been acceptable to do that,” Konecny said. “You look around the league and some of the other players that went to that tournament, they find ways to get through it and come out the other side, That is something I need to work on.”

Konecny’s point total late in the season was aided by playing with Matvei Michkov. Konecny had eight of his 13 assists after 4 Nations in the final nine games of the season, mostly playing alongside Michkov. Konecny notices the competitive nature and the desire to be the best player possible in Michkov.

“I think he’s probably the one guy that I’ve played with in my career that he wants to be the best player in the NHL. He believes that he can be and you can’t teach that,” Konecny said. “That’s just something that he wants, and he believes in and that’s a powerful thing. If he can continue to figure out how to play on both sides of the puck and help us win games that way too. He’s really a big part of this.”

Hathaway: ‘The Obstacle is the Way’

Garnet Hathaway has been a successful role player on the Flyers for the last two seasons. There was an element to the team that was missing when Hathaway suffered an injury that kept him out for 15 games, over the more tumultuous part of the season – trade deadline, losing 11 of 15 games, the firing of Tortorella.

So Hathaway has certainly been a presence in the locker room as an established veteran. On Friday, he used some of that veteran experience to explain the journey the Flyers are on.

“My second year in Calgary, Glen Gulutzan was my coach. He came in and we had gone through a stretch where we had our fate in our hands and we let it slip away. And he basically said ‘the obstacle is the way,’” Hathaway said. “And I nodded my head. Not a clue, right? How could that make sense at all? It doesn’t.” 

But with more experiences, especially in the midst of a rebuild with the Flyers, Hathaway sees more and more of what Gulutzan’s lesson was.

“Then you start realizing ‘what does that mean?’ What we went through this year will help us get to where we want to be. Being a Flyers fan, it’s tough, this year more than other years. But trust us that we are trusting our management and we’re putting our effort on the ice in order to be Stanley Cup champions. And we wear our jersey with pride, just as our fans do.” 

The Flyers have missed the playoffs five seasons in a row. They are still looking for the pieces that can make them a contender. They are still navigating challenges within seasons to see which players emerge into the core of a potential champion. And it’s all part of the process to Hathaway.

“You learn from it. You take those ups and downs that we had this year. You find yourself in a situation with adversity, with trades, with guys who mean so much to our locker room and to the Flyers organization. That’s the obstacle,” Hathaway said. “Who steps up? Who finds their voice? Who picks the guy up next to them? I think that’s how you look at this year.” 

The Flyers aren’t going to immediately rise to the top of the league. It’s going to take more time. But after GM Danny Briere spoke about hopefully hitting “rock bottom,” Hathaway hopes that is indeed the case.

“Hopefully, we’re going the other way, and hopefully today is the start of that,” Hathaway said. “We’re going to hit more obstacles. But what are we going to learn? How are we going to perceive those and get better from them and become the team we want to become?”