The sun has set on Logan Couture's NHL career.
A day before the Sharks will mark the end to the 2024-25 NHL Season, Couture
and the San Jose Sharks held a press conference at SAP Center to officially
announce his retirement due to injury.
"Unfortunately, due to my
injury, I am no longer able to play hockey," said Couture. "I'm extremely
grateful and proud to have played 16 years in the best league in the world. I
want to thank the Sharks organization and all of my teammates over the course
of my career. And most especially, thank you to the Sharks and hockey fans
around the world for your continued support. I will continue to root for the
Sharks as they look to get back to annually competing for the Stanley Cup as we
did for so many years."
The Sharks captain has spent the last two
years trying to work back from a deep pelvic injury that sidelined him for all
but 6 games last season and the entire 2024-25 campaign. Struggling through a
rehabilitation regimen which left him in a position where the pain would
prevent him from rehabbing more than a couple days at a time, it was time to
hang up the skates for good.
The entire Sharks roster sat in
attendance during the press conference, many having never played with the
Sharks captain. While Couture was robbed of a segment of his career, many of
the younger faces in the audience lose out on having a world class mentor to
assist in their development.
For a competitor like Couture, a day like
this was made harder by the reality that his career was cut short. In his
professional prime, the injury stole a segment of his career that should have
been his opportunity to shine. To mentor. To pass on the years of experience
could be handed down to the up and coming core of younger players.
He
played 15 seasons, beginning in 2009-2010, two years after the Sharks drafted
him in the 1st round with the 9th overall pick. Couture spent four seasons with
the Ottawa 67's in the OHL, scoring no fewer than 58 points in a single season.
He recorded an 87-point season in his final year in Ottawa.
He
recorded a career high 70 points on 27 goals and 43 assists in 2018-19.
Couture's time to shine always came in the spring during the playoffs where he
flourished. He played in 933 regular season games, but his 116 playoff games is
what people will remember most.
He is credited with 48 goals in that
span, adding 53 assists for 101 career playoff points. 9 of his first 10
seasons included the playoffs.
On the international stage, Couture has
much to brag about. He won a Gold Medal representing Canada at the 2016 World
Cup. He also represented Canada at the 2007 U-18 World Junior Championship.
During the somber press conference, Couture filled
in some of the gaps that have been a mystery about where he stood the last two
years.
On finalizing the decision to retire, he reiterated that he was
in a "ton of pain" in his last game in Anaheim in 2024.
He focused on
training and rehab, but could never string together consistent periods of time
when he wasn't in pain. The reality set in in late 2024.
They (the
Sharks) gave him every chance to recover. He saw specialists on both coasts,
but the seriousness of the injury was something he couldn't overcome.
Speculation began several weeks ago when Couture removed the Sharks from his
social media. On Tuesday he had nothing but great things to say about how the
Sharks handled things.
On the emotional toll it took he said, "It's
like losing in the playoffs, when you lose, you hit a brick wall and don't know
what else to do."
"I've come to peace with it. We tried everything and
it just didn't work."
On how his children influenced his decision:
"Yes I want to play with my kids when I'm older...I wanted them to remember me
playing, but it's not to be."
"Each time I would try to ramp it up I'd
be in pain, I'd be sore. Each time I tried to ramp it up it got worse. When
it's bad, it's really bad."
When asked if he would stay involved in
the NHL, he was non-committal. "We'll see. Hockey's been my life since I was 3.
It's going to be weird to wake up and not have a schedule. I'm going to take
some time with my family and go from there."
"Somehow, yes" he added
when pressed about staying involved. "It's all I've ever done. I do see a
future, just not anytime too soon."
Sharks GM Mike Grier praised his
captain for his contributions off the ice. "He's been invaluable with his
experience," said Grier. "He gave me advice about what he saw on the ice. He
was there to give advice to the players, myself and the coaching staff.
"Ultimately, his health and quality of life with his family must be
the top priority but we have been extremely fortunate to have had Logan as our
captain and as a leader in our organization for the past 16 seasons, said
Grier."
As the last remaining piece of the Sharks glory days, the
press conference officially brought closure to a Sharks era. Now it's time for
the next generation to step up and show that the Sharks can return to those
better times.
