The San Jose Sharks have re-signed center Logan Couture to an eight-year contract extension worth $64 million. The new pact kicks in for the 2019-20 campaign. In locking down the two-way pivot long-term, GM Doug Wilson now has a key piece in place as the Sharks attempt to stay near the top of the Pacific Division in the coming years.
During the morning of madness that was the Mike Hoffman double-trade, Wilson made the point that he’d like some of the organization’s prospects to make a charge at a roster spot in 2018-19. It’s altogether possible that franchise legend Joe Thornton comes back for at least one more season, but ‘Jumbo’ is battling time and health. For the Sharks to remain vibrant, Couture must be an engine and a mentor.
As it is, Couture is coming off one of his strongest offensive performances yet, registering 61 points and a career-high 34 goals in 78 games. He was more than a point-per-game player in the post-season and that has been a pattern; he steps up in pressure situations. He plays against tough competition and still maintains pretty decent possession numbers. He also kills penalties and can sting teams shorthanded.
At 29 years old, Couture is no youngster (in NHL terms), but he still has plenty of good years ahead of him. His leadership skills will be counted on as the Sharks get younger - and they almost have to get younger - along with Sharks stalwarts Joe Pavelski, Brent Burns and Marc-Edouard Vlasic. But there’s a nice base to work with. Evander Kane had a nice start in San Jose once he was traded from Buffalo and the power forward maintains that the organization has really taken care of him. Toss in the evolving two-way prowess of Tomas Hertl and you have a nice start to a team that has talent at every position, including in goal with Martin Jones.
The key now will be for Couture to prove he’s worth $8 million per season. Ideally, he stays in that 30-goal range, but ups his overall point total into the 75-80 range - something he has yet to accomplish at the NHL level.
The only real risk here is that Couture can’t be that true No. 1 center the Sharks need in the future. He’s not lightning-quick and he will be playing against Connor McDavid, Johnny Gaudreau and the whole Vegas speed crew in the coming years. This isn’t a huge gamble however, and in giving Couture a modest raise from his current $6 million stipend, the Sharks have another core piece of their lineup for the maximum amount of time possible.
