SAN JOSE — Logan Couture is joining the San Jose Sharks on their upcoming road trip with the expectation that he might get into a game, coach David Quinn said Thursday.
Couture has missed the entire season with a lower-body injury but has made significant progress with his health in recent weeks, skating more regularly without any setbacks.
Quinn said the Sharks want Couture, 34, to get through more practices without any issues.
“When he does play, we don’t want there to be any potential setbacks,” Quinn said before the Sharks played the Winnipeg Jets. “We want this to be 100% good.”
The Sharks are scheduled to practice Friday and then finish a three-game homestand on Saturday against Toronto. The Sharks then begin a five-game, eight-day road trip on Tuesday against the Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena, followed by games against the Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Buffalo Sabres, and Chicago Blackhawks. The trip lasts until Jan. 16.
Quinn said he’s spoken to Couture about whether he’ll play the wing or move back to center once he does return.
“So we’ll just see how it keeps going,” Quinn said.
Couture’s last NHL game came on April 13 against the Edmonton Oilers, as he finished last season with 27 goals and 40 assists in 82 games. The 2022-2023 season marked the first time since 2014-15 that he’s played every regular season game.
Couture is fourth in Sharks history with 700 career regular season points and fifth with 927 regular season games.
Couture’s return figures to provide a boost to a Sharks team that entered Thursday with the league’s worst record at 9-26-3. San Jose is last in the NHL in both goals scored per game (2.05) and goals allowed (4.08).
“It’s tough. I try to support the guys as much as possible,” Couture told NBC Sports California earlier this week. “When you’re losing, it makes coming to the rink some days tough. But these guys are very proud players, and they want to win. They want to be successful, so I’ve tried to support them as much as I can.
“I see the passion every day. But there’s been growth in different areas, individuals, and as a team, I think we’re a really close team. I think we played some good hockey in stretches.”