Logan Couture feared his NHL career was finished earlier this season.
“I can honestly say two months ago, I would wake up and didn’t know if I was ever going to play in the NHL again,” the San Jose Sharks captain said. “It’s something that I thought of many, many days.”
The 34-year-old center spoke with the media Tuesday for the first time since before training camp. He has not played this season because of a lower-body injury.
"That was the toughest part, the unknown, Couture said. “… Waking up one day and feeling good, then waking up the next day and feeling really [lousy], just not knowing. There was no light at the end of the tunnel."
Couture has been rehabbing the injury but experienced setbacks, causing him to question his future.
It's not the first time Couture has missed time during his 14-season career with the Sharks. During the 2019-20 season, he was sidelined with a broken ankle. Five seasons earlier, he broke his fibula. He missed 30 games in each of those seasons.
This time, though, there is no definitive timeline on when Couture can return, according to the Sharks. He is skating on his own but has not rejoined them.
Couture said he is finally starting to feel confident about playing this season.
"Finally, knock on wood, everything continues to go well and I’m over that hump and things can continue to trend to me getting back to practicing with the guys," Couture said.
Couture played all 82 games last season. He had 67 points (27 goals, 40 assists), his highest total since 2018-19 (70 points; 27 goals, 43 assists).
A first-round pick (No. 9) by San Jose at the 2007 NHL Draft, he has 700 points (323 goals, 377 assists) in 927 regular-season games and 101 points (48 goals, 53 assists) in 116 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
The Sharks are 9-17-3 this season but are 6-2-2 in their past 10 after a 2-1 win against the Winnipeg Jets at SAP Center on Tuesday.
Couture was sorely missed at the start of the season, when San Jose lost its first 11 games (0-10-1 record), tied for the slowest start by any team in NHL history. The Sharks weren’t scoring and couldn’t keep the puck out of their net, and it looked for a while like they might be in the running for the worst season in franchise history.
“Seeing the guys after some of those games, they wore it, and there’s not much you can do from the sidelines,” Couture said. “You can only play cheerleader so much and add your two cents to certain plays, but I wasn’t on the ice.
“When I’m playing and someone’s telling me what I should be doing differently, it goes in one ear sometimes and out the other.”
But since they gave up 10 goals in back-to-back games against the Vancouver Canucks and Pittsburgh Penguins on Nov. 2 and 4, prompting a meeting with general manager Mike Grier, the Sharks have turned their season around.
From the start of December through games Tuesday, no NHL team had scored more goals per game than San Jose (4.67). Its top two centers have played a big role; Mikael Granlund has 15 points (three goals, 12 assists) in his past nine games, and Tomas Hertl has 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in his past nine.
The Sharks just finished a 3-2-1 road trip that included dramatic comeback wins against the New York Islanders and Detroit Red Wings, and a near come-from-behind victory against the Vegas Golden Knights. They lost 5-4 in a shootout to Vegas on Sunday after they trailed by two goals late in the third period.
“It’s so rewarding now for these guys to play the way that they are,” Couture said. “That road trip was awesome to watch … very proud of a lot of those guys, the way they’ve continued to battle through a lot of adversity, a lot of injuries.
“Even that Vegas game we lost four or five guys throughout that game, and I thought we played better than Vegas did. Pretty impressive,” Couture said.
Now it’s a matter of when Couture can return. He said he’s headed in the right direction.
“I’m proud of the work I’ve put in to get to where I’m at, and I’ve had some great help in that medical room in there,” Couture said. “We’ve reached out to a lot of people in the Bay Area who have helped me, and I feel good right now.”
NHL.com independent correspondent Chelena Goldman contributed to this report
