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Sean Couturier lands on IR as Flyers give him week to week timeline

By Ariel Melendez

Dec 5, 2021; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Flyers center Sean Couturier (14) against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the third period at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 5, 2021; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Flyers center Sean Couturier (14) against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the third period at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports /
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Well, it looks like Sean Couturier won’t be joining the Flyers at all on their west coast road trip. The veteran forward had a chance to meet the team on the road after landing in COVID protocol on December 23rd. With the NHL adopting a five-day quarantine instead of 10, Couturier could’ve potentially come out on Tuesday.

Instead, he will be out a bit longer than that. According to Cap Friendly, Couturier was placed on IR before the Seattle game, though the team made the announcement before the game against the Sharks on Thursday evening. He is currently listed as week to week. It’s clear that he has been battling a few different issues during the last month of so. He was given a maintenance day on December 20th, days before he was placed in protocol.

"“Sean’s been battling with various upper and lower body issues all year. I give him credit, he’s a warrior. He keeps playing hard.” Chuck Fletcher said after practice on the 20th."

It isn’t quite known what the nature of his injury is as the Flyers have simply called it an upper-body injury. He is an important player for this team and it’s clear they want him at his best down the line. So he’ll have some extra time to get healed up from the issues that have been bothering him recently.

The depth down the middle has taken a bit of a hit for Philadelphia in the last week or so. The team has lost Couturier and Scott Laughton to COVID protocol. Derick Brassard had been working his way back from injury before he joined the two. Claude Giroux is back at center for the time being. And Morgan Frost re-joined the team after his stint in protocol as well.

A banged up Couturier is still an important piece to this team. But a healthier one is even better for them. Playing in tough situations against other team’s top lines and eating a lot of big minutes, the Flyers need Couturier to be at his best.

The team could get both Laughton and Brassard back soon, which will certainly help their depth. Couturier is a hard player to replace, though, as Philadelphia will have to find a way to get through without him for now.

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