On March 19, 2022, the Flyers traded captain Claude Giroux following his 1,000th game with the team. Since that day, there has been no official captain on the Flyers.
But on Wednesday night, the 20th captain in franchise history was officially named. Sean Couturier becomes the newest Flyers captain.
Couturier, 31, has played in 771 career games in his 12 seasons with the Flyers, which ranks fifth all-time. Over his career, he has scored 191 goals and has 493 points. This season, he has 11 goals and 33 points in 50 games, his first season after missing a span of 663 days with a back injury.
“Sean Couturier is an ideal choice to be the next leader of the Philadelphia Flyers,” GM Danny Briere said in a statement. “Sean was drafted here and has made Philadelphia his home. I have personally seen his development from a responsible forward to one of the best two-way centerman in the game and a playoff performer. The adversity he has had to overcome has only strengthened his proven leadership.
“In this New Era of Orange with Dan Hilferty, Keith Jones, and John Tortorella at the helm, we couldn’t be more proud to call him captain.”
“It’s such a great honor. It’s a really prestigious organization so this makes it even more special. This city is my home and I love it here,” Couturier said in a statement. “It’s going to be business as usual for me. Nothing is really going to change from me or my game and how I approach things. I love my teammates, how we have grown as a group, and I want to make sure we keep going on the right path here.”
In addition to Couturier assuming the captaincy, Scott Laughton remains an alternate captain. Travis Konecny was also named an alternate captain. Laughton has served as alternate captain since the 2022-23 season. Konecny will wear a letter for the first time in his career.
The Flyers are on the road to face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night, which will mark Couturier’s first game as captain. After that, the team heads to face the New Jersey Devils in the Stadium Series on Saturday night.
