PLYMOUTH, Mich. --Sean Couturier and Cam Atkinson are expected to be on the ice for the Philadelphia Flyers when training camp begins next month, according to president of hockey operations Keith Jones.
Couturier has had back surgery twice since last playing Dec. 18, 2021, most recently on Oct. 27, 2022. Atkinson had surgery to repair a herniated disk in his neck Dec. 21, 2022, and did not play last season.
"The end of last season, they were ready to come back then," Jones said Wednesday while attending the 2023 World Junior Summer Showcase at USA Hockey Arena. "So now they're gettin,g a full offseason of training and getting ready to prepare for the rigors of a long regular season. All indications are that they are full-go, and we're really excited about that."
Couturier was practicing before the end of last season and had been hoping to get into a game, but the Flyers announced April 1 that an organizational decision had been made to hold the 30-year-old out to allow him to have a regular offseason of training.
At the time, Couturier said he didn't agree with the decision but understood the Flyers made it in his best interest.
"I appreciate it and I understand where they're coming from," he said then. "I just feel I'm at the same risk right now as I would be next year. ... It's kind of tough on the morale on that side. But like I said, it is what it is. I'm going to keep working hard and get ready for next year."
Couturier is a two-time 30-goal scorer who won the Selke Trophy as the top defensive forward in the NHL in 2020. Couturier plays on the top power play and penalty kill, and is entering the second season of an eight-year, $62 million contract ($7.75 million average annual value) he signed Aug. 26, 2021. He's played 29 games since then.
"I'm going to do whatever I can to put myself in the best position to have success," he said in April. "Whether I'm up to par coming into (training) camp or a little behind, I'm confident that I'll be back the player I was at one point. I've just got to try to stay focused and positive and just keep working."
Atkinson, who had been acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets in a trade for forward Jakub Voracek on July 24, 2021, was second on the Flyers in 2021-22 with 50 points (23 goals, 27 assists) in 73 games.
The 34-year-old already has played in game-like conditions, taking part in the no-checking Cap City Elite Summer League in Columbus in July. He said at the time that he would be "ready to rock and roll for Game 1" of this season.
"I think it's a great sign, and it's probably great for him to get out there and have some fun in a game environment," Jones said. "He's a really important player for us. Not just the way that he plays and performs on the ice, but how he leads by example."
Jones also said defenseman Ryan Ellis will unlikely be able to continue his playing career because of a torn psoas muscle in his back.
Ellis was acquired from the Nashville Predators as part of a three-team trade that included the Vegas Golden Knights, on July 17, 2021. The 32-year-old played four games in the 2021-22 season, the final one Nov. 13, 2021.
He has 275 points (76 goals, 199 assists) in 566 games with the Predators and Flyers after Nashville selected him with the No. 11 pick of the 2009 NHL Draft.
"We all wish for Ryan just as a human being, because I've been through that at the end of my career, when there's uncertainty about whether you would come back or not and then dealing with the reality of not coming back," Jones said. "It's a tough time. It's a very really difficult time. I'm very sympathetic to what he's gone through.
"I think that he's exhausting everything that he can in order to play, like we all do. You never want to have the void of not doing something that you'd love to do. And he did it very effectively when he played, so it's got to be really difficult."
