THN.com/podcast. From THN On The 'A': Sharks' Nick Cicek on His Rise to the AHL and NHL Logan Couture [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAwMjY3MTI1ODQxOTk0ODYw/usatsi_20012325_168400847_lowres.jpg] Logan Couture The NHL’s 2023 off-season continues, but there’s no break from the pressures felt by players, coaches, team owners and GMs. Those pressures are the focus of this ongoing THN.com series, continuing today with the San Jose Sharks. Working through the NHL’s teams in alphabetical order, we’re identifying one player, coach, GM or team owner per team as someone on the hot seat, facing serious pressure to put up positive results in the 2023-24 campaign or be placed in the team’s doghouse. A second person will go on the warm seat as someone not imminently about to be traded or fired but who may be on the outs sometime in the next year. A third individual will be on the cold seat, labelling them as someone quite likely to remain with their team for the long term. On occasion, we’ll select more than three players per team file, with ties in one or two categories. Today, on the rarest of occasions, we’re spotlighting a total of six players SHARKS’ HOT SEAT: LOGAN COUTURE, C He has been San Jose’s top forward for some time, but Couture is now 34 years old. Although he’s got four years on a contract that carries an $8-million cap hit, Couture is not going to be in his prime when the Sharks are a legitimate Stanley Cup contender. He has a modified no-trade clause, but it’s only a list of three teams of his choice that he can’t be dealt to, per PuckPedia [https://puckpedia.com/player/logan-couture]. As San Jose’s captain, Couture is always in the spotlight. But many players who have been in his current position tend to request trades to a Cup contender, and if Couture doesn’t go that route and would prefer to stay with the Sharks, his competitiveness is going to be questioned. San Jose GM Mike Grier could bring back a very nice haul in any Couture trade, but the captain will likely have some say in his next destination, so it may take some time to find the proper trade fit for the player and the organization. Couture has 14 NHL seasons under his belt, but it’s the right time for him to move on and be part of a winner. Being traded is probably a matter of when, not if, for him. SHARKS’ WARM SEAT: (TIE) FORWARDS ANTHONY DUCLAIR, MIKE HOFFMAN, ALEXANDER BARABANOV AND KEVIN LABANC The Sharks are in the midst of a full rebuild, and these four veteran forwards are all scheduled to be UFAs in the summer of 2024 [https://puckpedia.com/team/san-jose-sharks]. That makes them prime candidates to be traded by Grier. None of Duclair, Barabanov, Labanc and Hoffman have monster cap hits – Labanc ($4.725 million) and Hoffman ($4.5 million) are the most expensive of the four, while Duclair ($3 million) and Barabanov ($2.5 million) are the most affordable. With their contracts set to expire next summer, Barabanov, Labanc, Duclair and Hoffman all could be tremendous rental acquisitions, and Grier could move them for draft picks or NHL-caliber prospects. Barabanov is the only one of the four who has a no-trade clause, and even then, it’s a modified no-trade, with only a list of 10 teams he can’t be moved to. Ultimately, it doesn’t make sense for the Sharks to hang onto any of them for the long term. There’s also veteran forward Mikael Granlund to consider, but the 31-year-old Finn is under contract for the next two seasons at $5 million per campaign. Unless San Jose is willing to retain some of Granlund’s salary, he’s probably going to stay with the Sharks. It’s the four aforementioned veteran forwards who will be most attractive to playoff contenders, and it’s difficult to see them remaining in San Jose for much longer. SHARKS’ COLD SEAT: MARC-EDOUARD VLASIC, D At his best, Vlasic was a terrific shutdown blueliner who any team would want. But Father Time has come calling for him, and now, the 36-year-old is well past his prime. Unfortunately for him, his $7-million cap hit makes him unaffordable for most teams, and the Sharks can only retain one more salary in a buyout [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/san-jose-sharks/analysis/sharks-buyout-candidates-marc-edouard-vlasic], so it’s unlikely Grier takes that route with him. Vlasic may still be able to contribute decent play in limited minutes – last season, he averaged only 17:28 of ice time – but it’s his cap hit that’s the overriding issue keeping him from being dealt. Because of his contract, he’s likely to be a Shark for his entire career, and at this point, riding out the final three seasons of his deal is the most probable scenario for him.
