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Logan Couture

Pacific Notes: Tanev, Couture, Schultz, Thompson, Patera

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The Flames aren’t generating the level of interest they’d hoped for in pending UFA defenseman Chris Tanev as the March 8 trade deadline approaches, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman told CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal on Monday. Calgary GM Craig Conroy has only received offers consisting of second-round picks (and extras) for Tanev, not the first-round pick he’s holding out for.

Tanev, 34, isn’t performing up to his shutdown expectations this year – a tough spot for the Flames to be in as they try and recoup as much value as possible for his services over the past four years. He’s been one of the best pure possession-control blue-liners since signing with the Flames in 2020, even earning some Norris Trophy consideration in 2022, but his possession numbers this season look quite pedestrian. Despite his respectable +10 rating, Tanev’s expected rating is now in the negatives after posting a combined expected +37.3 rating over his first three seasons in Calgary. The Flames are generating less and allowing more at even strength with Tanev on the ice than in years past, and contending teams with keen analytics departments are likely tempering their trade offers in kind.

More updates from the Pacific Division to kick off the week:

  • Sharks captain Logan Couture is now listed as week-to-week after suffering a setback related to the groin issue that sidelined him for the first 45 games of the season, head coach David Quinn said Monday (via Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now). He will not travel with the team on their upcoming road trip and has been ruled out of the next two games as a result, but his absence now appears to be much longer than that. He’d played in just six games this season before the All-Star break, recording one assist and averaging 18:45 per game. With that news, the already basement-dwelling Sharks will be without each of their top two centers for the foreseeable future – Tomáš Hertl is undergoing knee surgery and could miss the rest of the season. For now, offseason trade pickup Mikael Granlund is expected to anchor the top line, while emerging rookie William Eklund will get a longer look at center on the second line.
  • Kraken defenseman Justin Schultz took part in Monday’s morning skate after missing Saturday’s game against the Flyers for personal reasons, Alison Lukan of Root Sports reports. As such, he’s expected to return tonight against the Devils, placing rookie Ryker Evans alongside Brian Dumoulin on the team’s bottom pairing. The 22-year-old Evans has been the far superior two-way player this season, but the Kraken’s 28th-ranked offense needs Schultz’s puck-moving ability and power-play expertise to help get the team on the scoresheet. Now in the second season of a two-year, $6MM deal, the 33-year-old Schultz has 16 points and a -11 rating in 42 contests this season while averaging 15:58 per game.
  • Golden Knights netminder Logan Thompson is dealing with an illness and is unavailable for Monday’s game against the Wild, per the team. The 26-year-old has started the majority of Vegas’ games this season, with Adin Hill missing a significant chunk of the campaign due to injury, posting a 16-10-4 record and .906 SV% in 31 games. Hill is now healthy, and he’ll be backed up tonight by Jiří Patera, who the team has recalled from AHL Henderson under emergency conditions with Thompson out. The 24-year-old has made four starts for the Golden Knights this year and one relief appearance, recording a passable .901 SV% and 3.75 GAA.

West Notes: Foligno, Dewar, Couture

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Wild winger Marcus Foligno will not travel on the team’s upcoming two-game road trip, according to Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. He was absent from practice earlier on Sunday after sustaining a lower-body injury in the third period of Friday’s game against the Penguins.

The 32-year-old has missed a handful of games with injuries this season but has again been a mainstay in the Wild lineup, recording 20 points in 47 games while averaging 14:35 and posting a team-high +12 rating. The former Sabre is now in his seventh season with the Wild and boasts a full no-movement clause as part of his pending four-year, $16MM extension that will run through 2028. He has not been placed on injured reserve, maintaining hope that he’ll be able to dress against his former team when the Wild return home next weekend.

Other updates from the Western Conference:

  • Foligno’s injury necessitated the recall of Adam Beckman from AHL Iowa earlier today, but he may not make his season debut against the Golden Knights tomorrow after all. McLellan also reports that Connor Dewar will likely be cleared to return from a lower-body injury that’s kept him out since Jan. 19 and will replace Foligno in the lineup. He’s expected to remain in a fourth-line role skating alongside Vinni Lettieri and Jake Lucchini, while Brandon Duhaime slides up to Minnesota’s third line in place of Foligno. Dewar has seven goals in 45 contests this season, his third with Minnesota.
  • Sharks captain Logan Couture has missed the last two practices with soreness related to the groin injury that’s sidelined him for all but six games this season, head coach David Quinn confirmed Sunday (via Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now). He’s listed as day-to-day and hasn’t been ruled out for the Sharks’ next game, a Wednesday tilt against the Jets. Couture, 34, has yet to score since returning last month and has one assist while averaging 18:45 per game.

Sharks Officially Activate Logan Couture And Nico Sturm Off IR

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The Sharks will indeed welcome back not just one but two centers tonight when they take on Anaheim.  The team announced (Twitter link) that they have activated Logan Couture and Nico Sturm off injured reserve as expected.  To make room on the active roster, center Mikael Granlund and defenseman Ty Emberson have been transferred to IR, moves that were suggested as likely on Friday.

Couture has missed the entire season with what previously had been an undisclosed injury.  Today, he told reporters including Max Miller of The Hockey News that he had been dealing with osteitis pubis.  He twice tried to come back from this already but suffered setbacks each time, resulting in cortisone shots, extended rest, and a different training regimen as the team tried to figure out how to best treat the injury.

The 34-year-old is coming off of one of his best seasons offensively as he recorded 67 points while playing in all 82 games for only the second time of his career.  A 14-year veteran, some have wondered if Couture could be a trade candidate at some point with San Jose clearly in a full-scale rebuild.  He’ll need to demonstrate not only that he is fully healthy but that he is also still capable of producing at a top level as Couture has three years left on his contract after this one with a $8MM cap charge.  The Sharks, meanwhile, only have one salary retention slot remaining through the end of next season.

Nevertheless, his return will be a welcome one for a team whose offense has struggled mightily this season, recording just 89 goals in 45 games, putting the Sharks dead last in the league in that department.  Couture is expected to play alongside Alexander Barabanov and Fabian Zetterlund in his debut.

As for Sturm, the 28-year-old has been out for more than a month after re-aggravating a wrist injury.  He has played in 26 games so far and while he only has two goals and two assists, he’s among the NHL’s leaders in faceoff percentage, checking in at just over 62%.  With faceoffs and penalty killing being elements that teams often try to upgrade before the trade deadline, it’s possible that Sturm, who has one year left after this one at $2MM, could be someone that teams inquire about in the coming weeks.

Sharks Notes: Granlund, Emberson, Couture

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Mikael Granlund has been ruled out of the San Jose Sharks’ next three games by head coach David Quinn. Team reporter Sheng Peng speculated that Granlund could be moved to injured reserve, along with Ty Emberson, who is designated as week-to-week with an upper-body injury.

Granlund has had a bright season despite San Jose’s struggles, boasting 29 points in 38 games, good for second on the team in scoring. He’s served as a top-line player for the Sharks, averaging over 20 minutes of ice time each game. He’s on pace for 63 points this season, a mark that’d be his highest since the 2021-22 season and the fourth time that the forward has netted 60 or more points.

Emberson has played in 21 of San Jose’s 45 games this season, averaging nearly 19 minutes of ice time. The 23-year-old defenseman has managed seven points in his appearances, playing out the first games of his NHL career. He is one of four rookies on the Sharks roster, alongside Nikita Okhotyuk, Henry Thrun, and Danil Gushchin.

The Sharks are also seeing the return of captain Logan Couture, who is making his season debut after missing the team’s first 45 games with a lower-body injury. Couture has played 14 seasons and 927 games with the Sharks, ranked fifth in club history in games played. He’s carried that team captaincy since the 2019-20 season when he took over for Joe Pavelski after his move to the Dallas Stars.

Pacific Notes: Couture, Burakovsky, Beniers, Dunn, Leason

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The Sharks will remain without captain Logan Couture this week as he’s been ruled out for the remainder of their road trip, head coach David Quinn said (via San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng). Couture is slowly nearing a return from a lower-body injury that’s sidelined him for the whole season to date, and he’s been skating for over a month. However, Quinn has repeatedly preached caution by not rushing him into the lineup and risking re-aggravation of the injury.

Couture’s return won’t have much of an effect on the Sharks’ on-ice fortunes. Their 23 points and .267 points percentage are both the worst in the league this season, coupled with a -90 goal differential that demonstrated little optimism for improvement. They may have some upward mobility into the 31st or 30th places in the league standings, but even that seems unlikely past the halfway point of the season. However, his return to the organization is an important emotional win – the veteran of over 900 games and 14 seasons in a San Jose sweater remains an important locker room presence and provides some more quality depth for youngsters like William Eklund, Henry Thrun and Fabian Zetterlund to skate with.

More from around the Pacific Division:

  • The Seattle Times’ Kate Shefte relays that the Kraken are without three major players for today’s tilt against the Penguins: winger André Burakovsky, center Matthew Beniers and star defenseman Vince Dunn. Burakovsky, 28, is out with a lower-body injury sustained early in Saturday’s 7-4 win over the Blue Jackets. It continues an extremely injury-plagued season for the Swedish winger, whose previous upper-body injury had limited him to 13 games on the year. He has one goal and five points after finishing second on the Kraken in points per game last year with 39 points in 49 appearances. The 21-year-old Beniers, meanwhile, sustained an upper-body injury against Columbus after appearing in all 42 Kraken games thus far this season. His sophomore campaign has been rocky after taking home the Calder Trophy last season, posting just six goals and 19 points after notching 57 points last season. His possession numbers remain strong, however, a positive sign that his decline in production likely isn’t permanent. Dunn is out with an undisclosed injury after logging 22 minutes against Columbus on Saturday. The 27-year-old should earn himself a few Norris votes at season’s end, leading the team in scoring with 35 points while playing over 23 minutes per game. He’s in the first season of a four-year, $7.35MM extension.
  • Ducks winger Brett Leason is not in the lineup for today’s game against the Panthers after leaving Saturday’s 5-1 loss to the Lightning with an upper-body injury.  The 24-year-old has already set a career-high in points with 12 through 36 appearances this year, scoring six goals and posting a -6 rating in bottom six minutes. Entering the game against the Lightning, he had been a healthy scratch in two of the last four games. He hasn’t been given a return timeline by the team yet.

West Notes: Terry, Wallstedt, Couture

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Derek Lee of The Sporting Tribune is reporting that Anaheim Ducks forward Troy Terry does not have a concussion but is dealing with an upper-body injury. Terry was placed on injured reserve yesterday which won’t affect his return date which could be very soon as Lee describes Terry’s status as, “Very day-to-day.” The wrinkle for the Ducks is that Terry was put on IR retroactively to December 30th, meaning that they can activate him on Sunday if he is fit to play. However, the Ducks currently sit at the 23-man roster limit so they will need to make a move to activate him.

Terry has struggled so far this season after signing a massive seven-year $49MM contract extension in the offseason. Thus far through 35 games, the Denver, Colorado native has just nine goals and 13 assists which is well off his offensive pace over the last couple of seasons.

Max Jones has filled in during Terry’s absence and even scored a goal on Sunday night in the Ducks’ lopsided loss to the Oilers. Despite the promotion to the top 6, Jones has not seen an increase in his ice time.

In other Western Conference notes:

  • Joe Smith of The Athletic is reporting that Minnesota Wild goalie prospect Jesper Wallstedtis is expected to return tomorrow night for their AHL affiliate in Iowa and could factor into the NHL roster over the next week. The 20th overall pick in 2021 has been dealing with a lower-body injury and could make his NHL debut if he is recalled by the Wild to fill in while Filip Gustavsson is on IR. The 21-year-old has put up terrific numbers in the AHL this season, registering an 11-7 record with a .922 save percentage and a 2.43 goals-against average in 18 games.
  • Max Miller of The Hockey News is reporting that San Jose Sharks forward Logan Couture could return to the Sharks lineup during their upcoming road trip. Couture is traveling with the team on their five-game road trip and is hoping to get back into the lineup having missed the entire season to date. Couture has dealt with several setbacks during his recovery after suffering a lower-body injury. The Sharks were already thin up front coming into the season and Couture’s injury has further exposed a weak forward core. The Sharks have flirted with the idea of using Couture on the wing once he returns, but not much is known about where he will play once he does return.

Pacific Notes: Kraken, Carlsson, Sharks, Andersson

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The Seattle Kraken are getting sued by the trademark holder of the old Seattle Metropolitans logo for how the Kraken decided to design their Winter Classic jerseys. Trademark holder Paul Kim claims that the red ‘S’ draws close similarity to the old Metropolitans logo, despite the Kraken telling Kim that they would go in a different direction with the Winter Classic jerseys after dispute over the early design.

This lawsuit details the breakdown between Kim and the Kraken organization over the course of 24 pages, claiming that the logo, colors, and pattern used by the Kraken were ”virtually identical” to the Metropolitans jersey, going as far as featuring “1917” on the collar in reference to the Metropolitans’ 1917 Stanley Cup Win. Seattle Metropolitans Hockey LLC claims they’ve lost an estimated $2.5MM from the release of the Kraken’s Winter Classic jerseys. Seattle will still wear the contentious jerseys in Monday’s Winter Classic, with the lawsuit coming too close to the event to alter the team’s course. The decision made in this lawsuit could help define the future relationship that the NHL’s newest franchise can have with its predecessor.

Other Pacific Notes:

  • The Anaheim Ducks have moved Leo Carlsson to injured reserve. The prolific rookie suffered a scary knee injury last Thursday, ending up with a sprained right knee ligament that’s expected to hold him out for four to six weeks. The 19-year-old had managed eight goals and 15 points through his first 23 NHL games.
  • The San Jose Sharks have announced a string of injury updates – sharing that goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood is trending in the right direction to play on Sunday, while Ty Emberson and Logan Couture are doubtful for the matchup. San Jose will be looking to snap a seven-game losing streak when they face the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday. The Sharks have been outscored 33-to-10 over their long-term skid.
  • The flu bug is continuing to spread around the NHL, with Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson missing the team’s Friday practice with illness. The team did not share any updates about Andersson’s availability for their Sunday night matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers. Andersson has appeared in 31 games this season, leading Flames defenders in scoring with 18 points.

Morning Notes: Kuzmenko, Pinto, Couture

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The Vancouver Canucks could be looking to move high-scoring winger Andrei Kuzmenko, according to The Fourth Period’s Dave Pagnotta. Pagnotta shares that the team has discussed trading him but that, “nothing is close”, citing his $5.5MM cap hit and modified-no-trade-clause as pieces that make a trade challenging.

Kuzmenko is off to a slower start to the season after scoring an electric 39 goals and 74 points in 81 games last season. It was Kuzmenko’s first year in the NHL, with Vancouver signing him out of the KHL, where he had previously played 315 career games and scored 200 points. The 27-year-old winger is now sporting just five goals and 16 points through 26 games this season, on pace for just 50 points in 82 games. Pagnotta shares that Vancouver could be looking for a talent-for-talent swap, attempting to bring in a new face to replace Kuzmenko’s role in the top-six. The left-winger has averaged roughly 16 minutes of ice time through his 107 career NHL games so far.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Shane Pinto is expected to resume training with the Ottawa Senators’ skills coaches soon, after doing much of his training at various colleges while serving his 41-game suspension. The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch shared expects the forward to sign his qualifying offer, which would give Pinto a cap hit of $874K. Pinto is eligible to resume playing for either the Ottawa Senators or Belleville Senators on January 21st.
  • Logan Couture spoke with media for the first time in two months on Tuesday, shedding light on the lower-body injury that’s so far held him out of the season. Couture, 34, candidly shared that he had feared the injury could end his career, but that those fears are behind him after he began rehabbing the injury. He is now expecting to return soon, but the Sharks captain didn’t have a timeline yet, calling himself, “truly week-to-week”. Couture has spent his entire career with the San Jose Sharks, totaling 700 points in 927 games with the club.

Evening Notes: Couture, Pesce, Kings, Johnsson

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Originally, Sharks captain Logan Couture wasn’t supposed to miss much time due to his lower-body injury.  However, he still has yet to play this season with Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News relaying that the middleman hasn’t just suffered one setback in his recovery but rather two separate ones last month.  GM Mike Grier added that they’re not in a position at this point to say if he’ll be back in a month or two, only that it’s something he’s not able to play through.  San Jose could certainly use Couture’s offensive skills – he’s coming off a 67-point showing last season – but clearly, he won’t be making his season debut anytime soon.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • The Hurricanes welcomed back Brett Pesce to the lineup tonight against Florida. He had missed eight straight games due to a lower-body injury, hardly an ideal start to a contract year.  Pesce had been in trade speculation dating back to the summer but that cooled off with the injury.  Tony DeAngelo was a healthy scratch as a result of Pesce’s return.  Carolina never put Pesce on the injured list despite him missing three weeks so no corresponding roster move needs to be made.
  • The near-daily roster shuffling in Los Angeles continues as the Kings announced (Twitter link) that they’ve assigned defenseman Jordan Spence and center Jaret Anderson-Dolan to AHL Ontario. The moves get them out of LTIR for a day, allowing them to bank a tiny amount of cap space which will be useful when Viktor Arvidsson is cleared to return.  Los Angeles is back in action Saturday against Philadelphia and both players will almost certainly be back on the roster at that time.
  • As expected, veteran winger Andreas Johnsson has indeed signed with SHL Skelleftea, per a team release. The 28-year-old signed with Pittsburgh in the summer but cleared waivers in training camp and didn’t report to the minors.  The Penguins granted him his release earlier this week, paving the way for him to sign back home and play with his older brother.  It’s a four-year deal for Johnsson which means his days of playing in North America may very well be over.

Sharks Issue Multiple Injury Updates

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Tuesday’s practice brought a lot of news from the San Jose Sharks, none of which was positive. Defenseman Matt Benning has been placed on IR with an undisclosed injury, per Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now, who also added that team captain Logan Couture has sustained a setback in his recovery from a lower-body injury and will stop skating for the next while. He also confirmed that forward Alexander Barabanov, who sustained a broken finger a few days back, will not have surgery and will miss four to six weeks.

Benning played 16:45 in Sunday’s 3-1 loss to the Capitals, recording a -1 rating, one shot on goal, and two blocked shots. The 29-year-old, who’s in the second season of a four-year, $5MM deal, has just one assist in eight games on the season and has struggled defensively even relative to his teammates, posting a career-low Corsi share of just 35.2% at even strength.

No corresponding recall will be necessary, as the Sharks were already carrying three extra defensemen on the active roster. 22-year-old Nikita Okhotyuk, who was recalled from a conditioning loan to AHL San Jose earlier today, could make his Sharks debut in place of Benning when they host the Canucks on Thursday.

It’s been an extremely trying start for the Sharks, who have managed to slide below already ground-level expectations. The team has scored just nine goals through nine games and is the only winless team remaining in the league with a 0-8-1 record. Couture’s season-long absence is a major factor in their poor performance, as the Sharks’ wingers have failed to produce much of any offense unless stapled to center Tomas Hertl on the first line. Before exiting the lineup with injury, Barabanov had been held off the scoresheet through six games and was a non-factor.

Perhaps what’s most concerning is that the development of their forward group, including youngsters like William Eklund and Thomas Bordeleau, was supposed to be the team’s lone goal for 2023-24. Instead, it’s a miracle they haven’t put up worse results – Mackenzie Blackwood and Kaapo Kähkönen have been surprisingly solid in the crease, both posting .907 save percentages while splitting duties. In doing so, they’ve kept the Sharks from having a worse goal differential than their already abysmal -26.

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