Logan Couture said his playing career with the San Jose Sharks has come to an end.
“My career of playing hockey has come to an end,” Couture said. “I’m not physically able to play anymore. It’s tough. [It stinks], but it is what it is. I loved and cherished every single moment that I got to play in this league. The NHL is everything that I thought it would be when I was a kid.”
The 36-year-old forward, who hasn’t played since Jan. 31, 2024, announced his decision at a press conference in San Jose with Sharks general manager Mike Grier on Tuesday.
“From the first time he set foot on the ice with a Sharks sweater on, Logan has been the consummate professional,” Grier said. “He has been a great leader on and off the ice and always led by example through his work ethic and by his play. Logan is the rare player who excelled at every facet of the game — he scored goals, set up teammates, was excellent on both sides of special teams, won face-offs, and was defensively strong.
“If you needed a goal late in the game or were defending a one-goal lead, Logan was the player you wanted out on the ice. What I admire most about Logan is when the games mattered the most, he always elevated his game to a whole new level. His performances in the Stanley Cup Playoffs speak for themselves. 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.”
Couture, captain of the Sharks since Sept. 12, 2019, has missed all but six games the past two seasons.
“I was obsessed with the game and with sports,” Couture said. “I’m so proud of what I was able to accomplish as a player and what we were able to accomplish here in San Jose. We had some incredible teams. I had so much fun playing here. I really did. I’m going to take so many memories of my career.”
He sustained a lower-body injury during offseason training after 2022-23 and missed the first 45 games of last season before returning to the lineup Jan. 20, 2024, when he had an assist in a 5-3 win against the Anaheim Ducks.
That was his lone point in six games. Eleven days later, Couture said he didn’t feel right after playing 21:54 in a 3-2 overtime loss at the Ducks.
On March 8, the Sharks announced Couture would miss the rest of that season with a hip/groin injury.
“I hope [I can play next season],” Couture said at the time, per The Mercury News. “Nothing’s ever guaranteed, obviously. This injury has lingered for a long, long time already, so I’m going to try and be ready. I mean, I couldn’t imagine not playing hockey, so we’ll see.”
Couture, selected by the Sharks with the No. 9 pick in the 2007 NHL Draft, has two seasons left on an eight-year contract he signed July 1, 2018. He’s fifth in Sharks history in games played (933), third in goals (323), fifth in assists (378) and fourth in points (701).
“You were the guy the coaches wanted out there, the constant pro and leader, both on and off the ice,” Grier said. “You led by example, through your work ethic, through your competitiveness, through your compassion, through your commitment and in the way you played the game. You always did everything the right way.
“We’re going to miss you. I think you know it’s for us, and for me personally and for our group, it’s a sad day. But it’s also for me, having been on your side of it, it’s a happy day, for you, because I think of what’s next in your next chapter, and I’m excited for you.”
Couture has played 116 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, fifth in team history. His 48 goals are tied with Joe Pavelski for second, and his 53 assists and 101 points rank second and third, respectively.
“First time I came to San Jose in 2007 I could just see and feel the passion that Sharks fans had,” Couture said. “There’s one quote, I don’t know who sent it to me, I think it was a fan grabbing me on the street. He said, ‘You know people here, they’re not hockey fans.’ I said, ‘What do you mean?’ He said that they’re Sharks fans. ‘This is our team,’ and that stuck with me.”
NHL.com independent correspondent Max Miller contributed to this report
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