As Sharks’ camp nears, questions about Logan Couture continue

SAN JOSE — Center Logan Couture hasn’t yet skated this offseason, and it remains unclear whether the San Jose Sharks captain will be on the ice when the team’s training camp begins in roughly four weeks.

Couture, who missed 76 games last season with a sometimes debilitating groin injury, said in April that he planned to resume skating in July to start preparing for the start of the 2024-25 season.

That hasn’t happened yet, but Sharks general manager Mike Grier said Friday that the team has a plan for Couture. He also stressed that Couture is in a good place mentally as he continues to work through osteitis pubis, inflammation in the joint between his left and right pubic bones.

Grier said Couture, 35, was at the Sharks’ practice facility in San Jose again on Friday and added that he’s “in really good spirits. I think he’s enjoying being back in the gym and being around the guys.”

The Sharks’ first preseason game is Sept. 22 at home against the Vegas Golden Knights, and they open the regular season in San Jose on Oct. 10 against the St. Louis Blues.

“He’s putting the time in, he’s putting the work in,” Grier said of Couture, “and we’ll just have to see how things go and where he’s at once camp rolls around.”

Grier has talked about how important a skilled veteran leader like Couture is to the Sharks, especially now with the organization set to welcome teenage forward prospects like Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith to the NHL.

Couture is entering his sixth season as the Sharks’ captain, a period of time that has seen tremendous upheaval in the team’s roster, front office, and coach’s room.

Ryan Warsofsky, named the team’s bench boss in June after two years as an assistant on David Quinn’s staff, is the Sharks’ fourth head coach in the last five years. Couture and defensemen Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Mario Ferraro are the only Sharks players left from the 2019-2020 season.

Grier said at the time of Warsofsky’s hiring that he had no interest in trading Couture, who still has three years left on his eight-year contract that carries a $8 million cap hit. Instead, Grier sees the value of having a career Shark like Couture on the ice and in the dressing room with prized prospects Celebrini and Smith, who probably could use extra guidance as they begin their pro careers.

Couture, who is entering his 16th NHL season, missed all of training camp last year and didn’t make his season debut for the Sharks until Jan. 20. The Sharks were a dismal 10-31-4 in Couture’s absence but went 4-1-1 with him in the lineup before he was effectively shut down for the season after the NHL All-Star break in February.

The Sharks appear to be in a better position to absorb the loss of Couture this season than last. Besides having Celebrini and Smith as options at center, the Sharks signed Alex Wennberg to a two-year deal in July. Fellow free agent signing Tyler Toffoli is an established top-six forward and will complement a group that includes William Eklund, Fabian Zetterlund, and Mikael Granlund.

“He hasn’t been on the ice yet, but that’s all been part of the plan,” Grier said of Couture. “He’s in really good spirits, and he’s working hard to get his body right and hopefully get out there and help us win some games.”

Couture admitted in April that he has had concerns about whether he could ever again play at a high level. Couture ranks fourth in Sharks history with 701 points and his 933 games are the fifth most for the team. Only three players, Patrick Marleau, Vlasic, and Joe Thornton, have played more than 1,000 games in a Sharks uniform.

“(That doubt) is there, unfortunately, and with injuries, that’s the way it always goes,” Couture said four months ago. “The mind has always going to doubt that things are going to be back to normal or feel good, but myself, the doctors, we all believe that I can get back to playing and not being in pain.”

BENNING UPDATE: Grier said Sharks defenseman Matt Benning, who had hip surgery in December, should be ready for the start of training camp. At the time of the surgery, the Sharks had estimated that Benning, 30, would need approximately five months to recover.

A healthy Benning gives Warsofsky another option to deploy on a revamped defense corps. Newcomers Cody Ceci and Jake Walman are joining Benning, Vlasic, Ferraro, Henry Thrun, and Jan Rutta on the back end.

In his first season in San Jose in 2022-23, Benning averaged close to 20 minutes of ice time per game and had a career-high 24 points in 77 games. Last season, though, Benning, bothered by the hip, played in just 14 of the Sharks’ first 38 games, with his last game coming on Dec. 3.

“He’s excited to get back here,” Grier said of Benning, who has 457 games over an eight-year NHL career. “We missed him on the ice and we missed him in the dressing room. He’s a big part of our group here. I think he does a good job of being a steadying influence. The hip surgery is not easy, but he’s in a good spot and ready to get going, and he should be ready for camp.”