Logan Couture's Playing Career is Over

Logan Couture, the San Jose Sharks captain since the 2019-20 season, is hanging up his skates.

Couture has been dealing with a serious groin injury (osteitis pubis) that has sidelined him for the last couple of years.

Ultimately, that injury ended his NHL playing career.

“My career of playing hockey has come to an end. I’m not physically able to play anymore…The NHL is everything that I thought it would be as a kid…My first game was in October 2009…I remember when I walked out to the ice in warmup, I just couldn’t believe how loud the music was and how bright all the lights were. Skating around in warmup, I was just thinking, you did it. You made it…I could have finished after that one game and been happy.”

“Two come to mind when I’ve thought about favorite games I’ve played in: Game 6, 2016 against St. Louis. I scored into the empty net with about 30 seconds left to clinch the series, I remember skating around the net and I looked at Sharks fans in the front row and they’re cheering, but the looks on their faces, it was almost disbelief and relief put together that we were gonna go play in the Stanley Cup Finals. I remember Patty and Pav came into the pile soon after that, and they had that same look on their face.”

“2019 Game 7 against the Golden Knights here. What a game. The energy inside this building is unmatched. The loudest building I’ve ever been inside…Have you ever been to a nightclub and sat beside the speaker for a couple of hours, and then you leave that nightclub and you’re on the street and your ears are ringing and you can’t hear what anyone’s saying? That’s what it was like between the third period and overtime…I went out to the family room, and Goodie’s dad was there, and he gave me a big hug. And he whispered in my ear, ‘What was Barclay doing on the ice?'”

“I’m also extremely fortunate that I was able to spend my entire career here in San Jose with the Sharks. I’m honored to have been a Shark for this long. I don’t only have amazing hockey memories of this place, I have my family memories. My two kids were born here so this place will always be special…I’m always gonna be a Sharks fan, I want the Sharks to win so badly. I hope it’s soon because all you people here deserve to win. This franchise deserves it, and the fans deserve it as well.

“I just hope that I’m remembered as a player who worked extremely hard. Someone who would do anything to win, scoring, and blocking shots. Really anything.” Couture also thanked the many staff members the Sharks have: trainers, players, front office, etc. Couture also talked about how former Sharks coach Todd McLellan instructed him to watch and learn from five key Sharks: Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Joe Pavelski, Dan Boyle, and Ryane Clowe.”

And of course, Couture had to shout out to the fans.

“My first year, I sat at SAP Center in a stall. Patty was to my left, and Jammer (Jamal Mayers) was to my right. The season was a few weeks old, and Jammer looked at me and said, ‘How old are you?’ And I think at the time I was 21, and at that time he was 35 or 36, and he just kind of shook his head, and I said Why. He said I’d do anything to go back and do it all over again. Anything to go back to being 21 and restarting this whole thing. I kinda laughed, and he said No, seriously. You’re gonna blink and it’s gonna be all over. And it’s true.”

“To the fans, thank you…One quote I think it was a fan that grabbed me in the street. He said people here aren’t hockey fans. I said What do you mean? He said they’re Sharks fans. They love the Sharks. This is our team here. And that stuck with me…I just want to say thank you for making SAP Center the hardest building for other teams to come into and play against us. You ask players who played from the mid-2000s to a couple of years ago what their goal was in the first ten minutes of the game. It was just survive…That’s a credit to the fans, it’s a credit to our team. Thank you guys, I appreciate it.”

GM Mike Grier then spoke:

“First of all, congrats on a great career….The player I was most excited to work with was you. I always admired you from afar. The 200-foot game, the quiet intensity, competitiveness, and of course the clutch performances…You were a clutch playoff performer. Dominant in the playoffs. In the biggest games, in the biggest moments, you were at your best…If you needed a goal in the last minute, or were defending a goal in the last minute, you were the gut the coaches wanted out there…We’re gonna miss ya…Down the road, when the time comes and Brielle’s had enough of you around the house, there’s always a job with you here with the Sharks.”

Others who spoke via video were former Sharks GM Doug Wilson, former coaches McLellan and Pete DeBoer, former Sharks Boyle, Rob Blake, Brent Burns, Pavelski, and Tomas Hertl.

The Sharks then really pulled on the heartstrings by playing a video tribute to the Sharks’ captain, including his draft moment and several career highlights.

Couture, the Sharks ‘ first-round draft selection (9th overall) in 2007, has played every game in his NHL career in teal.

In his 15-year career, Couture has 933 games, 323 goals, and 378 assists.

Couture made an immediate impact in his first full year in San Jose. He tallied 32 goals and 24 assists in 79 games. Couture made his name known early and often.

Couture always seemed to step his game up in the spring, though. In 116 career postseason games, he had 48 goals and 53 assists. That is nearly a point per game in the playoffs, which in turn earned him the nickname “Clutchure.”

It became evident that Couture would eventually inherit the Sharks’ captaincy during his career. That day came after Pavelski’s departure in the summer of 2019 when Pavs signed with the Dallas Stars. With Pavelski gone, the Sharks had no captain until Couture took over the role.

Unfortunately, Couture’s time as captain, at least on the ice, was short-lived. Couture has dealt with a condition known as osteitis pubis, which is inflammation in the joint between the left and right pubic bones. He has only managed six games since the condition took over. His final game turned out to be a late January game in Anaheim against the Ducks.