VOORHEES, N.J. -- The Philadelphia Flyers have admitted they are in a rebuilding phase and the external predictions are for them to miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the fourth straight season.
The feeling is far different inside the locker room.
"A lot of people think rebuild is three or four or five years," forward Sean Couturier said Thursday during the first day of training camp. "It can take a year or two and we're right back there. I think that's going to be the goal.
"There's not too many expectations and I think we can kind of use that as motivation and maybe surprise a lot of people."
One way to speed up the process is Couturier (back) and forward Cam Atkinson (neck) staying healthy after each missed last season.
Couturier has had back surgery twice since last playing Dec. 18, 2021, and is a two-time 30-goal scorer who won the 2020 Selke Trophy voted as the top defensive forward in the NHL. The 30-year-old is aiming to remind the hockey world what kind of player he can be.
"They have their reasons to question or doubt, but I know what I'm capable of and the kind of person I am and the character that I have," Couturier said. "Not only to them but to myself, I want to prove that I'm able to be the player I was, if not better, so that's always a little extra motivation when you hear some doubters."
Atkinson shares a similar mindset. The 34-year-old has scored at least 20 goals in seven of his past nine seasons.
"My whole life I've had to prove people wrong, and I've used that to fuel my fire, to shove it in your face," Atkinson said. "I've got to prove it to myself even more so this year and that's why I think I prepared better than I ever have this offseason."
Their healthy returns should help take pressure off core forwards who were leaned on heavily last season, including Owen Tippett, 24, Morgan Frost, 24, and Noah Cates, 24. Tyson Foerster, 21, is expected to be a significant contributor after he had seven points (three goals, four assists) in eight games last season.
It's a group that doesn't have much name recognition, but the belief is that could change this season.
"Yes, I do [think they are underrated], but I kind of like that. Keep it like that," forward Scott Laughton said. "You have guys like 'Tipper,' who I think kind of was just starting to reach what he could do out there last year. His speed, the way he can get breakaways from his own zone. 'Frosty,' 'Catsey,' these guys that took a step ... they look great out here."
There isn't a similar level of belief outside the locker room.
"I've read the predictions, I see where everybody's picking us to be last or bottom three in the NHL," general manager Daniel Briere said. "I hope the players use that as a motivation. We hope and we believe that they're better than what the predictions are out there."
Though the focus is on the younger players and the future, the internal push is to win now.
"I'm sure in the room the players are not thinking rebuild, and I hope they're not," Briere said. "I made that very clear with them, that every game we expect them to win and go out and give their all. [Coach John Tortorella] was able to get the best out of them last year, which was really impressive. We expect the same thing this year.
"We're not tanking any games. We're not trying to lose on purpose. We're going to do things obviously for the future. But at the same time, we expect these guys to go out and win every game, and I hope they know that. I've told them that. I'm going to reinforce that before camp starts as well. We're not trying to lose. We're trying to develop our guys and hopefully a winning culture."
Defenseman Marc Staal went through a similar process while playing for the New York Rangers in 2017-18. They subtracted several key veterans in a short span, among them forwards Kevin Hayes, Rick Nash, J.T. Miller and Mats Zuccarello, and defenseman Ryan McDonagh. New York missed the playoffs the next two seasons but has qualified in three of the past four.
"Just because the word rebuild is thrown around doesn't mean you got to go out and lose every other game," Staal said. "It's just not the way it works. I was in New York when we kind of tore it down, so to speak. ... You never know how the season is going to go. It's 82 games. It's a lot of work and a lot of hockey. We're going to compete every day and then we'll see what happens."
