With all due respect to Claude Giroux, who is the straw that stirs the Flyers and is having a sensational season, center Sean Couturier gets my vote as the team’s first-half MVP.
Couturier has always been one of the NHL’s best defensive forwards, and that hasn’t changed. What has changed is this: He is also an elite scorer these days.
The transformation has been stunning. It’s like a light-hitting, slick-fielding shortstop — such as former Phillie Freddy Galvis — suddenly batting .330 and challenging for the batting title.
Entering the weekend, Couturier had more goals than Connor McDavid, more than Patrick Kane, more that Auston Matthews.