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.