Reports: Sharks C Logan Couture to end playing career due to injury

San Jose Sharks captain Logan Couture will announce Tuesday that he cannot continue his NHL career after battling an often painful injury for almost two years, according to multiple reports Monday.

Couture, 36, first started struggling with osteitis pubis ahead of the 2023-24 season.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, osteitis pubis is inflammation in the joint between your left and right pubic bones and is typically caused by repetitively using your hips, pelvis and groin, making it more common among athletes.

Couture ultimately played in just six games that season, missing the final three-plus months. He has not played since.

In the sixth year of an eight-year, $64 million contract, Couture is still owed $13 million over the next two years.

He will reportedly hold a joint press conference with Sharks general manager Mike Grier Tuesday afternoon at SAP Center, where it's expected he will announce that he cannot continue playing but not that he is retiring.

This would allow the Sharks to list Couture on either injured reserve or long-term injured reserve. Couture's salary cap hit will still be on the books for the next two seasons, but the Sharks would avoid a costly cap recapture penalty by the league.

Drafted ninth overall by the Sharks in the 2007 NHL Draft, Couture has 701 points (323 goals, 378 assists) and 255 penalty minutes in 933 games, all with the Sharks over 14-plus seasons. He ranks fourth in points, third in goals, and fifth in assists all-time for the Sharks.

--Field Level Media