Logan Couture: A captain who sinks his ship

Logan Couture believes the San Jose Sharks are on the right track. The captain intends to stay with the team for as long as he feels he is trying to make the necessary steps to find the playoffs.

One would think that Couture, who had good years at the club with Joe Thornton, Patrick Marlowe, Joe Pavelski and other Brent Burns back in 2010, would be tempted to leave the ship after several years of failure. After all, the 34-year-old center has yet to win a Stanley Cup.

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It would be an Ontario misunderstanding. With the Sharks, Couture wants to find the path to success.

“If the rebuilding was five, six or seven years ago, there has obviously been a change. But I believe in that [le directeur général Mike Grier] Did a good job returning the tools to us with some very good draft picks. It’s hard to predict what will happen in a few years, but I’m excited about this season. He promised in an interview with NHL.com on Wednesday.

San Jose lost its best defenseman, Erik Carlson, on Sunday. Many veterans such as Couture, Mark Eduard Vlasic and Tomas Hertel are still around to lead the team and young stars in the making are knocking on the door. The 2023-2024 season could be the hatching season for William Ecklund or Thomas Bordello.

With family

Since making their National League debut in 2009-10, the high-fashion has known nothing but Sharks. He became their captain in 2019 and will undoubtedly play his 1,000th match for them in a few months. Regularly among his most productive forwards, he has exactly 700 points to his name.

It’s clear he and his family are committed to California, but the victories have to come. He could certainly be tempted to look elsewhere at the end of his current contract, in the summer of 2027, if the Sharks’ plan falls through.

“Change is difficult, and if the day comes when it has to happen, I will judge that it was for the best for my family and for me. Towards the end of my career I am sure that my responsibilities on the ice will be reduced, but now I want to do everything I can to help the team and be the best player I can be.” With sharks.

“It’s hard to lose,” Couture continued. Losing is not the reason you play hockey. You play every night to win and [l’entraîneur-chef David Quinn] He is the guy who really wants to win. For the majority of our matches last year we put in a good effort from start to finish even though we finished where we finished.

With only 22 wins in 82 games, the lowest total in the entire Pittman circuit, the Sharks ranked penultimate in the Pacific Division standings. They have missed the playoffs for the past four years.