On Monday morning, the Philadelphia Flyers held a practice at the Wells Fargo Center, which was open to fans. This is a rare occurrence for the team. They typically hold morning skates in Voorhees at the Flyers practice facility.

Everything appeared to be running smoothly. However, a cloud still gloomed over the WFC and the Flyers’ faithful, which was covered up by the unveiling of the Flyers' newly renovated locker room. Sean Couturier was absent from practice Monday morning with an undisclosed injury. Head coach John Tortorella reported Couturier was in fact just banged up and it is not related to his previous back issues.

This was bound to happen, eventually. Couturier is almost 31 years old, yet he is leading all Flyers forwards in ice time. Even without his injury history, Coots has played over a decade in the NHL, that’s a lot of miles. There is no reason John Tortorella can not dial back his playing time. This may be an ego type situation for Sean Couturier, nonetheless, if he cares about the longevity of his career and/or contract, he should not be logging 20 minutes a night; especially only two games into the season.

There is the argument that Sean Couturier is meant to be the Flyers No. 1 center, but that just is not the case anymore. Although he has played well in his return, the wear and tear is still evident, having missed practice just two games in, has fans waving their red flags. 22 months, 669 days. That is how long it has been since Couturier last stepped on the ice for a regular season game, prior to the 2023-24 season.

The Flyers’ 2019-20 Selke winner is currently listed day-to-day, drawing concerns he may not play in the home opener tonight, meaning there could be more to the story. Now, that is just speculation. It would be to nobody's surprise if Couturier is not penciled into the lineup. There is still a silver lining, however. Not playing tomorrow would give him the chance to rest and return for the next game, which could be a route the Flyers organization takes this season. Coots is not expected to play all 82 games, nor should he be.

Following Monday’s practice, Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia asked John Tortorella about the severity of Couturier’s injury, to which Tortorella did not give very optimistic responses;

The Flyers head coach said Couturier was “banged up.” He also said he was “not sure” about the seriousness of the injury. Jordan Hall asked if the injury was in any way related to Sean Couturier’s previous back complications, Tortorella said “no.”

“You know I’m not going to give you the information, right?” he said. “So you’re wasting time asking those questions.” John Tortorella added.

Things look bleak for the Flyers, in an already underdog season. Hopefully Sean Couturier is okay to return like another veteran. Cam Atkinson had his own injury scare ahead of the Flyers' first preseason game. Time will tell as fans wait for the lineup to be released ahead of tonight’s game against the Vancouver Canucks at 6:00 p.m. ET. on NBCSP.

-Dylan Robillard, Olde City Sports Network