One of the only real takeaways that is reasonable to glean from that horrific home opener? Sean Couturier might already be in John Tortorella’s doghouse, and unlike last year’s late season demotion, this feels even more premature and ridiculous. For one, the Flyers captain has actually had a decent start to the season, at least if we are looking at underlying statistics. He may not be filling up the scoresheet, but who is right now? Is it really the right move to bench the captain that was named to the role about eight months ago?
There are few different considerations here, but let’s first set the stage with what happened last year.