Philadelphia Flyers head coach John Tortorella was a man of few words regarding Sean Couturier.
The Flyers captain was a healthy scratch during Philadelphia's 4-3 win Tuesday night over the Toronto Maple Leafs, and he could be out of the lineup again Thursday when they face the Carolina Hurricanes.
Tortorella spoke to the media Thursday morning and was asked what he needed to see from Couturier if he was playing.
Tortorella cut off the reporter mid-question and said, "I'm not talking about Sean."
The Flyers have yet to announce their lineup against the Hurricanes. Based on their lines at practice it appears they'll be sticking with the same lineup as Tuesday's game against the Maple Leafs.
Or so it seems. Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman addressed the Couturier situation Thursday on The Jeff Marek Show when he received a text from someone who told him to wait to see the lineup.
"He wondered if Tortorella is fooling around with some heads here," said Friedman, who added, "This is someone who knows him, who's listening right now, (who) said, I wouldn't jump to conclusions one way or another."
Tortorella has been critical of Couturier lately, going so far as to bench him during the team's 6-5 loss to the Boston Bruins this past Saturday. Couturier finished the game with only 11:10 of ice time, well below his season average of 18:36.
Couturier, who was named captain just over a month ago on Feb. 14, has 11 goals and 36 points in 64 games this season but hasn't scored in his past 15 games with only four assists over that span.
The 31-year-old missed most of the 2021-22 season and the entirety of 2022-23 due to a back injury.
Couturier is in his 12th season with the Flyers, who drafted him eighth overall in 2011. He has played 721 games with 180 goals and 280 assists for 460 points.
The Flyers (35-26-8) are third in the Metropolitan Division with 78 points — only three points up on the Washington Capitals in the race to the playoffs.
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