The Real Beauty of Sean Couturier and his Contract Extension

Last week’s news of Sean Couturier and his extension took many by surprise. It wasn’t the fact that he signed the extension. Many believed it was inevitable. It was just a matter of time until it was signed. No, it was the fact that he signed for $7.75 million over eight years. The AAV was much lower than many had originally believed it would be. The term was somewhat of a foregone conclusion, given that top-line centers typically get locked up to long-term deals.

The man who was arguably the biggest bargain on his current deal of $4.3 million now remains a bargain considering what other top-line centers across the league are making. A consistent scorer, someone who can play in all facets of the game, and a leader is now locked up for eight years at a hell of a value. Just how valuable is this contract though?

Your main detractors will be the ones who tell you this is too long of a deal and that it won’t be worth it in the end. Those same people are likely flooding comment sections for every Flyers article and telling people why the Flyers should have traded Giroux five years ago. Maybe they’re right. No, not about Giroux. That’s stupid. Maybe they’re right about Couturier’s contract not being worth it towards the end. In reality, how many contracts similar to this one are worth it in the last year or so? It’s the middle years of the contract that prove the worth, and Couturier will be in his early 30’s for those years.

Historically speaking, players of Couturier’s caliber and style of play only get better with age. Players with an affinity for playing the defensive side of the puck are a dime-a-dozen, and Couturier is no different. When looking back on players who play the game similarly to Couturier, you don’t have to dive too far into the annals of NHL history. There are two players who draw a stark comparison to Couturier just within the turn of the century.

Pavel Datsyuk

Datsyuk was an offensive genius. His puck handling skills were off the charts, and his offensive numbers mirror that. The man was over a point-per-game player in seven of his 14 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings. What made him truly special was his defensive play, earning him three consecutive Selke Awards in 2008, 2009, and 2010.

His first Selke in 2008 came at the age of 29. During that year, he posted 31 goals and 66 assists for a whopping 97 points en route to his first ever Selke Trophy. He posted 97 more points the following season in 2008/09, and 70 the year after that. Up until 36 years of age, Datsyuk was a point-per-game player.

From the year he won his first Selke and on, Datsyuk averaged just under 23 goals per season. On top of that, he pitched in an average of almost 43 assists per game. All-in-all, Datsyuk averaged nearly 66 points per season after his first Selke trophy, and that was nine total seasons. Datsyuk was an offensive stud early on and while it may have petered off a bit towards the end, he was still averaging great numbers up until the age of 37.

Patrice Bergeron

The comparisons continue. Sean Couturier will likely always be compared to Patrice Bergeron in some capacity, and for good reason. While Bergeron may have found his footing in the NHL a little quicker than Couturier, posting consecutive 70+ point seasons at the ages of 20 and 21, it’s what he’s done later in his career that could lay the framework for how Sean Couturier could age during his new contract extension.

Bergeron’s first Selke Award came at the age of 26, one year before Couturier’s. While he was never the offensive dynamo that Datsyuk was, he was consistent in putting up 50-60 points per season, sometimes topping 70. Again though, it’s what he did after his Selke win and into his 30’s that could show a type of trend we might expect Couturier to follow.

Currently, Bergeron is 36 years old. That’s one year shy of where Couturier will be at the end of his extension. To this point, we’ve seen Bergeron average 58 points per season since his first Selke win. Included in that average is a 25.4 goal per season average and 32.6 assist per season average. Lest we forget, he’s also only three years removed from a season in which he posted 79 points in 65 games.

Bergeron is on a level of his own. Four Selke Trophies in six years, a Stanley Cup, a Messier and Clancy Trophy as well. Bergeron will go down as one of the greatest defensive forwards in NHL history. Comparing Sean Couturier to Bergeron is a steep one, but there’s a reason for that comparison.

Sean Couturier

Coots isn’t nearly as established as Datsyuk or Bergeron. His offensive numbers won’t rival the best of Datsyuk. His defensive prowess hasn’t been on display as long as Bergeron’s. However, you shouldn’t discount that considering he is seven years younger than his Boston counterpart.

When Couturier started showing glimpses of his offensive prowess in 2017/18, he posted consecutive 76-point seasons. He followed those campaigns up with a 59 point showing in 69 games during the 2019/20 season and 41 points in 45 games this past season. All-in-all over those four years, Couturier averaged 26 goals and 37 assists for a 63-point average per season. Keep in mind, two of those seasons were shortened due to COVID-19.

If he continues at this pace, and for the length that Bergeron and Datsyuk kept up their style of play, Couturier’s contract will be well-worth it when Couturier enters its final year at the age of 37. The biggest factor that spurns encouragement has to be that both Datsyuk and Bergeron were able to maintain such a high level of play while entering their mid-30’s. Bergeron is still one of the elite two-way forwards in the game, while Datsyuk remained a threat to any opponent until his final season with the Red Wings at the age of 37.

With Couturier having garnered comparisons to both, it’s absolutely a positive and a sign that the best may be yet to come. Couturier is still young enough to have his best years in front of him. Bergeron proved that. Datsyuk proved it as well. It’s no sure-thing, but it absolutely is likely we have yet to see Couturier’s best season as a Flyer. That in and of itself is encouraging, and makes his contract extension worth every penny.

Follow Derrik Bobb on Twitter @PodStreetBobb

Photo 📸: Heather Barry (©)

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