SAN JOSE – Nearly a year after his last NHL game, injured San Jose Sharks captain Logan Couture does not appear to be any closer to resuming his playing career.
Still, coach Ryan Warsofsky said the organization is not yet ready to declare that Couture’s season is over.
Warsofsky said Couture has been a regular presence around the Sharks this season, talking to the team’s younger players such as Will Smith and Macklin Celebrini at the practice facility while also — considering his 933 games of NHL experience — providing a valuable resource to the coaching staff.
But Couture last skated on Jan. 31, 2024, when he suited up for the Sharks in a game against the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center, and there remains no timeline for him to get back onto the ice for what would be his 16th NHL season.
“He’s continuing to train and go through the rehab process with our training staff, so that’s kind of where it’s at right now,” Warsofsky said Monday of Couture, echoing his previous updates on the team’s captain. “I don’t think he’s any closer to getting on the ice right now.”
Since at least September 2023, Couture has dealt with osteitis pubis, described by the Cleveland Clinic as an “inflammation in the joint between (the) left and right pubic bones.” The condition can be debilitating at times, and Couture has previously said that there were days when he struggled to get out of bed.
While his day-to-day life from that standpoint appears to be much improved, questions about his ability to play again persist, as Couture still has two years remaining after this one on his eight-year, $64 million contract that began in 2019.
During the first half of the 2023-24 season, Couture would at times skate on his own in an effort to come back, culminating in a return to the Sharks’ lineup on Jan. 20, 2024, but there have been no such attempts this season after he stayed off the ice all summer.
“Honestly, day by day is how I’m taking it,” Couture said at the start of the team’s training camp in September. “Like I said, there’s been different ups and downs, mentally, physically, throughout this entire thing. I’ve had tough days. I’ve had good days. So (the long-term future) is really not on my mind. It’s come to the rink, try and get through as much rehab stuff as I can, see how I feel. Go home, see my family.”
Last season, Couture played in just six games, with his condition gradually worsening before he was shut down after the NHL all-star break in February.
Warsofsky said the Sharks (13-23-6), with 40 games left, are not yet at that point this season, which ends with an April 16 home game against the Edmonton Oilers.
“He’s at the games at home. He’s in our meetings,” Warsofsky said of Couture. “He’s on the roster like he’s getting prepared to play. He’s still the captain of our hockey team. So, he’s here training; he’s on his own rehab program.
“I’m sure it’s extremely hard (for him not playing). And it’s not just him; it’s any guy out of the lineup. It’s tough. You have a physical injury, but there’s also a mental injury that goes with that of having this routine of being a hockey player since, for some guys, since they were 2, 3, 4 years old of you go the rink, you get ready for your game, you get ready for your practice, and obviously now that’s stripped from you.
“So as much it is a physical injury, it’s also a mental injury that you have to take care of, and we have to be there to be there to support them. Not just not Logan. That’s all of our guys that have gone through injuries.”
Warsofsky said he appreciates having Couture around.
“I talk to (Couture) quite a bit, whether it’s after games, we talk very regularly of what he’s seeing,” Warsofsky said. “He’s obviously been around a lot, seen a lot of hockey, a lot of winning hockey.
“He’s been really good with the younger players; whether it’s eating breakfast or lunch, he’s always around for guys to talk to. I know (assistant coach Doug Houda) has talked to him about the penalty kill, (Brian Wiseman) about the power play, and myself, all sorts of different topics that have come up this year. So he’s been a really good resource for not just our younger players, but our coaches.”
Couture and defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic are the last two players on the Sharks roster to participate in a playoff game. Couture broke into the NHL in 2009 and is on the Sharks’ all-time list; he ranks fifth in games played (933) and assists (378), third in goals (323), and fourth in points (701).
“All those experiences that (Couture’s) gone through, and he can explain what it was like, and we’ve got to get back to those days,” Warsofsky said. “That’s the message to our younger guys who are coming up. He’s been a really good influence for those guys.”