Now comes the hard part: Couturier must show he is worthy of being the team’s second-line center and a six-year, $26 million contract.
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The 6-foot-3 center, who was born in Phoenix but plays on the Canadian national team, was the first-round pick by the Flyers in the 2011 draft or eighth overall selection and is known as the primary defensive specialist in Philadelphia. Couturier had a career-high 15 goals to go with 22 assists while playing in all 82 games for the second consecutive season.
For the first four years of Couturier’s National Hockey League career, the demands on him were pretty simple.
When Wayne Simmonds suffered a broken leg on March 25, Schenn replaced Simmonds on Couturier’s line and finished the season strong. “Hopefully we can do some good things during those six years”.
Hakstol, hired this offseason, has said he expects Couturier “to take another step forward”. “It’s not something we’re in a hurry to do and I’m assuming they feel the same way”. “I don’t anticipate signing Brayden, which never means that you’re not going to”.
“I’ve been playing 18 minutes a game the last two years”, Couturier said.
“We [he and the Flyers] were both committed to five or six years, ” Couturier said. If handled correctly, even though he has significant time under his belt already, Couturier’s deal could be viewed as a steal if he becomes an important piece of a Flyers side that sees playoff success. “Whatever I can do to help the team win”. I’m gonna be the same type of player, just try to definitely produce a little more offensively.
In April, Couturier stated that he does not want to be known as a purely defensive player and wants to contribute on offense consistently.
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“From my perspective, he’s played a lot of games and he’s a young player that is growing and developing”, Hakstol said at development camp earlier this month.
