Sharks captain not happy with current situation in San Jose, may want out
It's no secret that every young hockey player dreams of one day making the NHL and winning a Stanley Cup. However, even when a young player defies the odds and actually makes it to the NHL, there's no guarantee that they'll ever win a Stanley Cup or even play in a Stanley Cup Final. For San Jose Sharks captain Logan Couture, he has made it to the dance once in his career, but fell short of his ultimate goal. Now, it appears as though he might like another shot at winning a Cup.
Couture and the Sharks lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Cup Final in 2016. Couture has four years left on his deal with the Sharks, and understands that his job is with the Sharks, but a recent appearance on the San Jose Hockey Now podcast, you didn't need to be a master interpreter to read between the lines and determine that he wants to play on a contending team.
Obviously, Couture did emphasize that he'd love to retire a San Jose Shark, but once you express that desire to go elsewhere and compete for a Cup, it's tough to interpret that in any way other than that he wants out.
The Sharks are a bottom-feeding team who are in the midst of a rebuild, so it will still be several years yet before their contention window opens up. By that point in time, Couture will likely be finished his current contract and will be 38 years old. He's in a tough spot right now, watching his remaining years pass by without any hope of being able to compete for a championship in San Jose. It's hard to blame him for not wanting to waste these years.
Couture is still plenty productive, having tallied 67 points in 82 games last season. However, at 34 years old, time is not on his side. It will be interesting to see whether he and Sharks GM Mike Grier will meet at some point here to discuss whether or not there is any appetite to move him to a contender at some point, much the same way he did with Erik Karlsson this summer.
To date, Couture has played all 927 of his career NHL games with the Sharks after being drafted by the organization with the 9th overall pick back in 2007. He has amassed 700 career regular season points over that span.
| POLL | ||
AOUT 18 | 264 ANSWERS Sharks captain not happy with current situation in San Jose, may want out Will Logan Couture still be in San Jose after the 2023-24 trade deadline? | ||
| Yes | 99 | 37.5 % |
| No | 165 | 62.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
