One of the biggest stories in the NHL right now is the Toronto Maple Leafs making Auston Matthews captain despite the fact that John Tavares, who is getting his captaincy stripped away, still has one year remaining on his contract. The scenario stirred discussion among hockey fans across the league, and the Flyers’ own Sean Couturier and Travis Konecny were two names brought into the conversation. Would it even make sense for the Philadelphia Flyers to strip away Couturier’s captaincy after half a season? The short answer is no.
The main difference between Toronto and Philadelphia is that one team has been so close to greatness while the other team is in the middle of a rebuild. While the Leafs have some of the best players in the league, they can’t get the job done for whatever reason.
Toronto is coming off of another first-round exit against the Boston Bruins in this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Leafs fired head coach Sheldon Keefe, who is now in the Metropolitan coaching the New Jersey Devils this upcoming season. The Leafs also hired a former Flyers coach, who spent a reasonable amount of time in Philadelphia this season after being fired by the St. Louis Blues, Craig Berube.
With Toronto changing coaches and having a dramatic off-season with Mitch Marner, there was only one big move left to do, right? Tavares has served as captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs since October 2019. After five years, a change in leadership was about to take place, but was this the right move? For the Leafs, it makes sense that Matthews is dominant in the organization, but it is still brutal knowing Tavares only has one year left. However, for the Philadelphia Flyers, this move would hurt the team’s rebuild.
Toronto can justify its reasoning. What would Philadelphia’s be? After Giroux was traded away, the captaincy always belonged to Couturier. While the center’s performance left something to be desired last season, there is still time for him to redeem himself this year.
That being said, in the future, I see Konecny taking over. There is no doubt that Couturier’s contract is far from ideal. He has five years left of his contract at the age of 31. He may not finish his contract here in Philadelphia; he may even retire before the contract expires, allowing Konecny to get the captaincy earlier than five years. There is always the chance that Matvei Michkov is lights out and surpasses Konecny for the “C,” like the talk of Connor Bedard with the Chicago Blackhawks, but that’s a conversation for a different day.
All in all, there is a reason why this talking point is happening here in Philadelphia, and it’s because fans were disappointed by a lack of leadership last season, as previously stated. However, would this conversation even happen if the Flyers were to make the playoffs last season? Is the rebuilding process taking a toll on Philadelphia fans? Or is there the realization that the organization could have selected the wrong player to wear the “C?” Luckily, Konecny is an alternate captain and has a leadership role.
Maybe one day, Philadelphia will be in the same position as the Toronto Maple Leafs, but that would mean the Flyers would be a contending team, which seems optimistic.
