After seeing Logan Couture make steady improvement this month from a lower-body injury that’s kept him out all season, San Jose Sharks coach David Quinn can’t help but begin to look ahead to when his captain is fully healthy and available to play again.
“Now that he’s partaking in some team activities and out there with the team,” Quinn said before the Christmas break, “you start thinking ‘OK, when he’s ready, what’s going to happen, where are we going to insert him.’”
It’s a regular occurrence for Quinn, who has had to play musical chairs with his lineup more than any other coach in the league so far this season.
The Sharks, per NHL Injury Viz’s account on X, led the NHL in man games lost with 176 before their game tonight against the Los Angeles Kings.
Near the top of the list, besides Couture’s 34 games, was defenseman Matt Benning (lower body) with his 20 games missed, and counting, and forward Alexander Barabanov, who sat out 18 games with a broken finger from late October to early December, and missed the last two before the break because of illness.
As of Wednesday morning, besides Benning, fellow defensemen Ty Emberson (lower body), centers Nico Sturm (hand) and Ryan Carpenter (mid-body) were all on injured reserve. Forward Givani Smith and defensemen Calen Addison are also banged up, and it wasn’t immediately known whether they would be available to play the Kings.
Emberson had been playing on the Sharks’ top defense pair with Mario Ferraro before his injury on Dec. 3, and Carpenter was a steadying influence on the fourth line before he was injured later that same day. Both appear to be nearing a return.
Sturm, out indefinitely, led the team in faceoff percentage before he went down on Dec. 12, and the Sharks had lost all five ensuing games before Wednesday.
Add it all up and Quinn hasn’t had the benefit of a fully healthy roster at his disposal all season, with the injuries no doubt playing a role in the team winning just nine of its first 34 games.
“Anytime we get an injury it seems to be to a center,” Quinn said after Sturm was injured. “So, listen, nobody feels sorry for us. No one wants to hear a story and you’ve got to find a way to win a hockey game.”
No player’s injury has had a bigger effect on the Sharks this season than Couture’s.
Over the last five seasons, Couture has averaged just under 19 minutes of ice time per game, second only to Tomas Hertl among Sharks forwards. He plays on the top power-play unit, is a leading penalty-killer, and regularly skates against the opposition’s top line.
In his first season under Quinn, Couture averaged 19:08 in ice time per game and had 67 points, his highest total since the 2018-19 season.
Once Couture is healthy, Quinn said he’ll use him, “as much as he can be used.”
As of last week, there remained no specific timeframe for when Couture might return. The Sharks close 2023 with games against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday and the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday. They then open 2024 with a three-game homestand that features games against the Detroit Red Wings, Winnipeg Jets, and Toronto Maple Leafs.
For now, Couture is taking it day by day, with the next step being a full participant in practice with no limitations.
“I’ve got to remind myself I haven’t played hockey in a long time,” Couture said a week ago. “I haven’t been in a game since last April. It’s going to take time. I think it’ll come back quickly, at least I hope so.
“There are some days where I feel really good, my legs feel good, my hands feel good. Other days it’s not. It’s part of the process, I guess. I’m trying to build up.”
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Couture’s impending return will give Quinn that much more to work with inside his top-nine forward group.
Quinn could move Mikael Granlund, now the second-line center, to the wing in the top six, or make him the third-line center, especially if Couture returns before Sturm. Making Granlund the third-line center would allow Luke Kunin to move back to the wing, where he’s played most of the season.
Still, most of all, Quinn would be happiest just to see Couture back in a Sharks uniform.
“Having him out there makes him feel really good,” Quinn said. “But it makes us feel really good, too.”
