Logan Couture Stepping Away from Professional Hockey

 Longtime Sharks forward and current Sharks captain Logan Couture announced in a press conference today that he is officially done playing professional hockey due to his ongoing battle with osteitis pubis. This condition has held Couture out of the Sharks active roster for most of the past two seasons. It is also important to note that although he will no longer be playing hockey competitively, Logan Couture remains under contract with the Sharks at a cap hit of $8 million through the conclusion of the 2026-27 season. 

It is deeply unfortunate that Logan Couture's NHL playing career had to be cut short like this. However, Logan Couture has had an excellent career, is one of the greatest players in Sharks history, and is arguably the greatest playoff performer in Sharks history. He has amassed 323 goals, 378 assists, and 701 points in 933 games played across 15 seasons, which rank third, fifth, fourth, and fifth in Sharks history respectively. Couture is also one of 59 players in NHL history to record 300 goals, 700 points, and 900 games with one franchise and one of three Sharks to ever do so, alongside Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski. In the playoffs, Logan Couture has compiled 48 goals, 53 assists, and 101 points in 116 games played, ranking tied for second, second, third, and fifth in Sharks franchise history respectively. His 101 playoff points are the fourth most among NHL players in the 2010s, trailing only Sidney Crosby (123), Patrick Kane (109), and Evgeni Malkin (106), while Couture's 48 playoff goals rank second among NHL players in the 2010s, only trailing Alex Ovechkin's 50 playoff goals during that decade. In addition, Logan Couture ranks tied for second all-time in Sharks franchise history in shorthanded goals with 14 and fourth in power play goals with 83. He was named an NHL All-Star three times in his career (2012, 2020, 2022), and a Calder Trophy finalist and member of the NHL All-Rookie Team in 2011. 

The most likely scenario for what the Sharks do with the remainder of Logan Couture's contract is that it stays on IR until it expires, as Team Teal currently needs it to reach the salary cap floor next season. If the Sharks make a significant improvement in team performance and enter the playoff discussion within the next two seasons, the remainder of Couture's contract will get moved to LTIR to give them more salary cap flexibility to add to their roster if necessary. As for who becomes the next Sharks captain, I can guarantee that the Sharks are in no rush to name their next captain. Heading into next season, I think the most likely candidate to become the next Sharks captain is Tyler Toffoli, as he has fit in well and become the Sharks' best veteran player in his first season in teal. I can also see a scenario where the Sharks leave their captaincy vacant until they determine that Macklin Celebrini is inevitably ready to become team captain. If Tyler Toffoli becomes the next Sharks captain, I see his captaincy lasting for the next two to three seasons, and then it becomes Celebrini's captaincy to lose. 

Back to Logan Couture, he has been and will always be one of my all-time favorite San Jose Sharks players. He has been a massive contributor towards the Sharks' playoff window throughout the 2010s, including the Sharks' first-ever Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2016 and the Sharks' most recent playoff run in 2019. Not only was Logan Couture an all-around skilled forward and leader, he would step up his game and perform his best when it mattered the most. It is certainly sad to see his playing career end like this, but I have nothing but love, respect, and appreciation for one of the greatest to ever play for the Sharks. Hopefully the Sharks at least briefly acknowledge Logan Couture during tomorrow's season finale, and his no. 39 eventually gets retired and raised to the rafters at SAP Center in the near future. Wishing Captain Clutch nothing but the best in his future endeavors. 

Source: Sharks + SAP Center App 

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Sharks 2024-25 Game 81 Recap: Canucks 2, Sharks 1 (OT) (4/14/25)

 Another one that the Sharks started off well and were fully in but ran out of gas towards the end, as they fall 2-1 in overtime to the Vancouver Canucks in their final road game of the season. 

The Sharks struck first early in the second period on Macklin Celebrini’s 25th goal of the season, assisted by Tyler Toffoli and Luca Cagnoni. This retakes the NHL rookie lead in goals for Celebrini. Fast forward to the third period, when Linus Karlsson scored to tie the game at one for the Canucks to eventually force bonus hockey. With 18 seconds remaining in overtime, the Canucks would prevail on the game-winning goal by Jake DeBrusk to hand the Sharks their tenth straight loss. 

Alexandar Georgiev was outstanding in the Sharks’ last road game of the season, compiling 35 saves on 37 shots against. In addition, Jack Thompson, Jan Rutta, Zack Ostapchuk, and Thomas Bordeleau are all day-to-day, while Danil Gushchin, Luca Cagnoni, and Jimmy Schuldt were recalled from the Barracuda as the injuries are mounting towards the end of the season. On the flip side, Cam Lund was back in the lineup tonight after missing yesterday’s game due to an illness. In other news, Logan Couture is expected to announce his retirement from professional hockey due to his ongoing battle with osteitis pubis, which I will provide more details and reflection once this becomes official. 

The Sharks return home for one more game this season, hosting the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday at 7:30 pm PT. This next game recap will be more of a personal experience post, as I plan to be in attendance at the Shark Tank to catch Team Teal’s final game of the season in person, and you won’t want to miss it. 

Sources: Sharks Audio Network, NHL App, Curtis Pashelka via X, NHL Discussion via Instagram 

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Sharks 2024-25 Game 80 Recap: Flames 5, Sharks 2 (4/13/25)

 Team Teal’s losing streak has been extended to nine games with a 5-2 loss to the Calgary Flames. 

The Sharks opened the scoring early in the first period on Tyler Toffoli’s 30th goal of the season, assisted by Lucas Carlsson and Noah Gregor. This sets a career-long three consecutive 30-goal seasons for Toffoli. Later in the first frame, the Flames scored twice via Mackenzie Weegar and Adam Klapka to go ahead 2-1. 

San Jose evened the game at two early in the second period on Jan Rutta’s third goal of the season, assisted by William Eklund and Tyler Toffoli. It was all Flames from there, as Calgary scored three more goals via Yegor Sharangovich, Matt Coronato, and an empty-netter from Sharangovich in the third period to finish this one off. It is also worth noting that Jack Thompson and Zack Ostapchuk exited this game early due to injuries. 

Georgi Romanov recorded 25 saves on 29 shots against in the Sharks’ ninth straight defeat. In addition, the Sharks recently called up Thomas Bordeleau from the Barracuda as a replacement for Cam Lund, who was out with an illness. The Barracuda clinched a Calder Cup playoff berth for the first time since 2019, the latter of which is great and pretty big for the Sharks farm system. 

With the Blackhawks earning a point in their shootout loss to the Jets on Saturday, the Sharks have officially clinched last place in the entire NHL, the best odds to win the draft lottery, and a guaranteed top-three pick in the draft for the second consecutive season. This should come as practically no surprise, but at least it should result in another potential star player being added to the Sharks pipeline this summer. Team Teal plays its final road game of 2024-25 tomorrow in Vancouver against the Canucks at 7 pm PT. 

Sources: Sharks Audio Network, NHL App, Curtis Pashelka via X 

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Sharks 2024-25 Game 79 Recap: Oilers 4, Sharks 2 (4/11/25)

 The Sharks fall to the Edmonton Oilers 4-2 in the second of three meetings between these two teams this month. 

The Oilers struck first on a slap shot by Evan Bouchard early in the opening period. They then extended their lead to two via Ty Emberson against his former team later in the first period, followed soon after by Will Smith scoring his 18th goal of the season and fifth goal in his past four games, assisted by Nikolai Kovalenko, to get the Sharks on the board. 

Early in the second period, the Sharks tied the game at two on Henry Thrun’s second goal of the season, which went off of the back of Darnell Nurse’s skate and into the net, assisted by William Eklund. The Oilers went back ahead early in the third period on a power play goal by Corey Perry to make it 3-2 Edmonton. Edmonton added one more goal via an empty-netter scored by Connor Brown to cap this one off. 

Georgi Romanov is still searching for his first NHL win, recording 30 saves on 33 shots against. In addition, Mario Ferraro is done for the season due to a lower-body injury, Jan Rutta made his return to the Sharks lineup after a lengthy absence due to injury, and another top prospect in the Sharks organization has been loaned to the Barracuda in time for their Calder Cup playoff push, this time in Igor Chernyshov. 

It has been a rather close contest between these two clubs until the very end, but a subpar penalty kill was the main factor that led to the Sharks’ eighth consecutive loss tonight. Team Teal now heads into its final three games of the 2024-25 season, starting on Sunday in Calgary against the Flames at 5 pm PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App, Curtis Pashelka via X 

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Sharks 2024-25 Game 78 Recap: Wild 8, Sharks 7 (OT) (4/9/25)

 Both the Sharks and Wild each put up a touchdown in this super-entertaining contest with multiple lead changes, but the Minnesota Wild prevailed in overtime by a score of 8-7. 

Tyler Toffoli opened the scoring late in the first period with his team-leading 29th goal of the season in his return to the Sharks lineup after missing the previous game due to injury, assisted by William Eklund and Alexander Wennberg. The Wild responded soon after via Marcus Johansson to even the game at one. With just over a minute remaining in the first period, Brock Faber scored to put the Wild ahead by one. 

In the middle of the second period, the Sharks tied the game at two on Macklin Celebrini’s 22nd goal of the season, assisted by Jack Thompson and Will Smith, followed by Joel Eriksson Ek scoring seconds later to retake the lead for Minnesota. The Sharks then scored the next two goals to go back ahead. Carl Grundstrom scored his third goal of the season, with Cam Lund recording his first NHL assist on this goal, to tie things up at three, followed by Macklin Celebrini’s second goal of the game and 23rd of the season to take the lead, assisted by Will Smith and Timothy Liljegren. The Wild scored twice more before the end of the second period via Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek to retake the lead 5-4. In the midst of the last goal of the second period, Mario Ferraro got hurt while blocking a shot and had to be helped off the ice and into the dressing room. 

Early in the third period, Joel Eriksson Ek scored his third and fourth goals of the game to extend the Wild’s lead to three. A few minutes after, the Sharks cut their deficit to two on Nikolai Kovalenko’s seventh goal of the season, assisted by Macklin Celebrini and Henry Thrun. With this primary assist, Celebrini has officially set the Sharks franchise rookie record for points in a season with his 60th, surpassing Pat Falloon in 1991-92. Later in the third period, Macklin Celebrini collected his first NHL hat trick with his third goal of the game and 24th goal of the season to make it a one-goal contest, assisted by Will Smith and Nikolai Kovalenko. Not only was this the first hat trick of Macklin’s NHL career, it was also the first hatty scored by any rookie in the NHL this season. With just under a minute remaining in regulation, the Sharks tied the game at seven on Will Smith’s 17th goal of the season, assisted by Timothy Liljegren and Macklin Celebrini, to get this roller coaster of a game to overtime. Despite the Sharks’ resilience, the Wild held on via Kirill Kaprizov’s second goal of the game to earn a crucial two standings points in overtime. 

Alexandar Georgiev finished his night with 36 saves on 44 shots against. In addition, the Sharks have sent Collin Graf back down to the Barracuda as reinforcement for the 'Cuda to gear up for the AHL Calder Cup Playoffs. They also loaned one of their top prospects in Quentin Musty to the Barracuda after his season concluded with the Sudbury Wolves in the OHL. Marc-Edouard Vlasic was named the Sharks’ nominee for the Masterton Trophy this year, while Mario Ferraro was named the Sharks’ nominee for the King Clancy Trophy this year. 

Overall, this has been one hell of a contest between the Sharks and Wild, and it has certainly exceeded my initial expectations for it. Most importantly for the Sharks, it was a monumental performance for Macklin Celebrini, who recorded his first NHL hat trick as part of a five-point night and became the all-time rookie scoring leader in Sharks franchise history and the sixth 18-year old in NHL history to record five points in a game. I can’t complain about this one too much, as this game is much more meaningful for the Wild in their push for the playoffs. The Sharks have four games remaining in their 2024-25 campaign, all of which are against Western Canadian teams, and their next one is on Friday in Edmonton against the Oilers at 6:30 pm PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, ESPN, NHL App, Curtis Pashelka via X 

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Sharks 2024-25 Game 77 Recap: Flames 3, Sharks 2 (4/7/25)

 San Jose performed well and held a one-goal advantage through much of this contest, but a third-period rally by the Flames sunk the Sharks in a 3-2 Calgary victory. 

The Sharks struck first early in the opening period on Will Smith’s 15th goal of the season, assisted by Nikolai Kovalenko and Macklin Celebrini. Team Teal held its 1-0 lead until the middle of the third period, when the Flames scored three times via Adam Klapka, Morgan Frost, and Matt Coronato to take a 3-1 lead. The Sharks added one more goal with about two minutes remaining to cut their deficit to one on Will Smith’s second goal of the game and 16th goal of the season, assisted by Timothy Liljegren and Macklin Celebrini, but at that point it was a bit too little too late. 

Georgi Romanov had a quality start against the Flames in the Sharks’ next-to-last home game of the season, recording 29 saves on 32 shots against. In addition, Tyler Toffoli is day-to-day with a lower-body injury, Shakir Mukhamadullin is done for the season and AHL playoffs with an upper-body injury, and Jimmy Schuldt was sent back down to the Barracuda. 

This one went as expected: another close contest in which the Sharks remained in it until the very end but were not able to come out on top. On the flip side, Will Smith and Macklin Celebrini provided much of the Sharks’ offense, which is never a bad thing. Next up, the Sharks embark on their final road trip of the 2024-25 campaign for their next four games, starting on Wednesday in Minnesota against the Wild at 5 pm PT. 

Sources: ESPN, NHL App, Curtis Pashelka via X 

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Alex Ovechkin Breaks NHL All-Time Goals Record

 This may not directly involve the Sharks, but this is absolutely massive for hockey and sports in general: Alex Ovechkin has broken the NHL All-Time Goals Record, scoring his 895th career goal to pass Wayne Gretzky for the most goals scored by a player in his career in NHL history. 

It occurred at the 7:26 mark of the second period on the Capitals power play, which was also Ovechkin’s 42nd goal of the season and assisted by Tom Wilson and Dylan Strome. Ovi’s initial celebration after breaking the record was diving onto the ice like he did into the fountain after winning the Stanley Cup in 2018, followed by all of his teammates mobbing him at center ice. 

The Capitals vs. Islanders game at UBS Arena was then paused to hold a ceremony to honor this historic and potentially once-in-a-lifetime moment. Besides all of his Capitals teammates and the Islanders, Alex Ovechkin was joined by Wayne Gretzky, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, Capitals owner Ted Leonsis, and his mother, wife, and two sons to honor him on the blue carpet. 

This officially cements his status as the greatest pure goal-scorer of all time and one of the greatest players in hockey history. It is truly amazing that The Great 8 has been able to continue his high level of production at 39 years old. 

It is also worth noting that Alex Ovechkin is and has been one of my all-time favorite hockey players to have never played for the Sharks. This is not just for his pure goal-scoring abilities, but for his personality and physicality on the other side of the puck as well. I am even more grateful now to have seen Ovechkin in person at my most recent NHL game when the Sharks last hosted the Capitals on March 15, when at the time he had eight more goals to go before breaking the all-time record. 

Overall, this is a truly remarkable moment not just for hockey, but sports in general. We may never see a talent like Ovechkin and a feat of this magnitude happen again, and I am extremely proud that The Great 8 has broken one of The Great One’s elusive records that once seemed impossible to touch. I hope Alex Ovechkin keeps going and starts the 900-goal club before he calls it a career, potentially as soon as before the end of this season. 

Source: TNT 

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Sharks 2024-25 Game 76 Recap: Kraken 5, Sharks 1 (4/5/25)

 The Sharks fall to the Seattle Kraken 5-1 in their last Saturday night game and third-to-last home game of the season. 

The Kraken scored twice in the first half of the opening period via Jared McCann and Andre Burakovsky to begin this one, while the Sharks responded later in the period on Will Smith’s 14th goal of the season, assisted by Tyler Toffoli and Macklin Celebrini, to get themselves on the board. Seattle scored twice more in the second period via Jaden Schwartz and Chandler Stephenson to make it 4-1 in favor of the Kraken. After Stephenson scored, Alexandar Georgiev was pulled from the Sharks net in favor of Georgi Romanov, with Georgiev finishing his night with seven saves on 11 shots against. Later in the middle frame, the Kraken extended their lead to four on Jared McCann’s second goal of the game. 

The third period was scoreless, but this contest ended with frustrations completely boiling over for Team Teal, resulting in William Eklund’s first NHL fight, in which he faced off against Eeli Tolvanen, along with a roughing minor for Ty Dellandrea, cross-checking minor for Barclay Goodrow, and ten-minute misconduct for Zack Ostapchuk. Although this last-minute melee made the conclusion of this game more interesting, it was practically over at that point. 

Georgi Romanov stopped 23 of 24 shots against in relief for Georgiev. In other news, yesterday Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky was named the head coach for the U.S. national team at the upcoming IIHF Men's Hockey World Championships in Denmark and Sweden next month. 

On a more positive note, the Sharks will finish no better than 31st in the entire NHL, guaranteeing a top-four pick in the NHL Draft this year. It was great to see Stephen Curry in attendance at tonight’s Sharks game and the team treat a five-year-old cancer survivor and his family to an unforgettable weekend. Next up, the Sharks host the Calgary Flames in their next-to-last home game of the season on Monday at 7:30 pm PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App, Curtis Pashelka via X 

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Sharks 2024-25 Game 75 Recap: Oilers 3, Sharks 2 (4/3/25)

 Another solid effort and close contest went for not, as the Sharks lose 3-2 to the Edmonton Oilers in Jake Walman’s return to San Jose. 

The Oilers struck first early in the opening period via Connor Brown, while the Sharks responded about two minutes later on Jack Thompson’s fourth goal of the season, assisted by Alexander Wennberg and Mario Ferraro, to tie the game at one. Early in the second period, Viktor Arvidsson put the Oilers back ahead by one, while the Sharks evened things at two not long after on Tyler Toffoli’s 28th goal of the season, assisted by Mario Ferraro and Macklin Celebrini. Later in the second period, Edmonton went back on top on a double deflection goal scored by Jeff Skinner to make it 3-2. With less than a minute remaining in regulation, Collin Graf had a prime opportunity to score the game-tying goal to force overtime, but Calvin Pickard made a big save to preserve the Oilers’ one-goal lead. 

Georgi Romanov received the start in net for San Jose and performed much better than his previous start, registering 35 saves on 38 shots against. In addition, prior to this game, the Sharks called up goalie Gabriel Carriere from the Barracuda to back up Romanov, and Henry Thrun returned to the Sharks lineup after he was absent for some time due to injury. 

Team Teal hosts the Seattle Kraken for one last time this season in their next game on Saturday at 7 pm PT. 

Sources: ESPN, NHL App, Curtis Pashelka via X 

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Sharks 2024-25 Game 74 Recap: Ducks 4, Sharks 3 (SO) (4/1/25)

 Despite coming back in the third period, the Sharks dropped their third straight contest in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Anaheim Ducks to wrap up a quick two-game road trip through So Cal. 

The Ducks scored first early in the opening period on a deflection by Trevor Zegras shortly after Anaheim won the faceoff. Soon after, the Sharks responded with Shakir Mukhamadullin’s second goal of the season to tie it at one, assisted by Ty Dellandrea and Mario Ferraro, followed by Jackson Lacombe scoring to retake the lead for the Ducks. Anaheim extended its lead to two with just under a minute remaining in the first period via Sam Colangelo. 

Early in the third period, Shakir Mukhamadullin was taken out of this game due to an upper-body injury after he was wrestled down by Frank Vatrano following Mukhamadullin’s hit on Troy Terry near center ice. The Sharks scored twice in the third period, beginning with Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s first goal of the season and in over a year at around the four-minute mark, assisted by Jack Thompson, and Alexander Wennberg’s tenth goal of the season at the 16:46 mark of the third period, assisted by William Eklund. The difference-maker came in the skills competition, when Mason McTavish scored to give the Ducks the extra point over the Sharks in this contest. 

Alexandar Georgiev was solid in net against the Ducks, recording 34 saves on 37 shots, some of which were huge in critical moments. In addition, Jack Thompson was recalled from the Barracuda yesterday, while Luca Cagnoni and Patrick Giles were re-assigned to the Barracuda. 

Although they did not earn the victory, the Sharks overcame a subpar first period and came back to force bonus hockey, which is certainly a huge improvement over their past two games. Team Teal returns home for its next three games, starting on Thursday against the Edmonton Oilers at 7:30 pm PT, which will be televised exclusively on ESPN+ and Hulu. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App, Curtis Pashelka via X 

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