San Jose Sharks captain Logan Couture officially announced his retirement Tuesday.
"My career of playing hockey has come to an end," he said, per beat reporter Curtis Pashelka. "I'm not physically able to play anymore. It's tough. It sucks, but it is what it is. I loved and cherished every single moment that I got to play in this league. The NHL is everything that I thought it would be when I was a kid."
Couture hasn't played since Jan. 31, 2024, due to a nagging groin injury. The 36-year-old is under contract through 2026-27 at an $8-million cap hit.
He hasn't played a full season since the 2022-23 campaign when he tallied 27 goals and 67 points in the full 82-game slate. Couture then missed the first 45 contests of the following season while rehabbing a groin injury, which he thought at the time might end his playing career.
His comeback attempt was ultimately limited to six appearances, and he hasn't played since.
Couture believes his injury will gradually improve once he stops training for hockey, according to Fear the Fin.
He appeared in 933 NHL contests, all with the Sharks, and racked up 323 goals and 701 points. Couture ranks fifth in franchise history in games played, third in goals, and fourth in points.
The Guelph, Ontario, native was a superb playoff performer. He notched 48 goals and 101 points in 116 career postseason games, leading the playoffs in scoring in 2016 and in goals in 2019.
"I just hope that I'm remembered as a player that worked extremely hard, and someone that would do anything to win," Couture said, according to The Hockey News' Max Miller.
San Jose named Couture captain ahead of the 2019-20 campaign. The Sharks drafted him ninth overall in 2007.
Sharks general manager Mike Grier left the door open for Couture to return to the organization in another capacity.
"I think you're a brilliant hockey mind and down the road, when the time comes and (wife Brielle) has had enough of you around the house, there's always a job for you with the Sharks," the executive said, per Pashelka.
