Sharks Notes: Couture, Vlasic, Kunin, Smith
21/04/2024 15:44
Long-running San Jose Sharks captain Logan Couture is hoping to return to skating in July and be fully healthy for the start of next season, shares team reporter Curtis Pashelka. Couture was limited to just six games this season, grappling with osteitis pubis, a painful groin injury that’s lingered since last off-season.
This season marked the first time in Couture’s 15-year career that he hasn’t played in at least 25 games. He’s been a backbone of the Sharks lineup for much of recent memory, recording 701 points across 933 games with the club, including 67 points in 82 games last season. San Jose certainly felt the impact of his absence, ranking dead-last in the NHL for most of the season and emotionally parting with Couture’s long-time centerman Tomas Hertl at the Trade Deadline. The fall has conveniently set up San Jose to take homegrown prospect Macklin Celebrini, the unanimous top name in the 2024 NHL Draft. But even with the boost of the reigning Hobey Baker Award winner and the return of their captain, San Jose will still need hefty change to make sure a performance as dim as this season’s doesn’t happen again.
Other notes from San Jose:
- The team has reportedly not discussed buying defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic out of his contract, per Max Miller of The Hockey News (Twitter link). The 18-year veteran of San Jose appeared in just 57 games this season, missing action to both injury and being healthy scratched. He managed just 12 points in his appearances, the third-lowest point totals of his career. Buying out Vlasic’s $7MM cap hit this summer would leave San Jose with a $3.833MM cap hit next season, a $4.833MM cap hit in 2025-26, and then two years of a $1.33MM cap hit – a palatable price given Vlasic has two seasons remaining on his lofty deal anyways. But with $37.97MM in projected cap space this summer, it seems the Sharks are content to let legacy stick around.
- Pending restricted-free agent Luke Kunin is reportedly open to a multi-year deal with the Sharks, per Pashelka (Twitter link). The 26-year-old centerman is coming off of his first full season with the Sharks, after being limited to just 31 games last year. He recorded measly numbers – tallying 11 goals, 18 points, and a -30 – but is clearly eager by the opportunity offered in San Jose. With a career-high of just 31 points, posted all the way back in the 2019-20 season, it’s likely that Kunin sticks around on a cheap deal and fights to earn a bigger role next season.
- Sharks general manager Mike Grier shared that the team is actively talking to top prospect Will Smith about an entry-level contract, shares Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now (Twitter link). Grier added that he believes Smith is ready for the NHL – a point that’s hard to argue after Smith posted 25 goals and 71 points in his first 41 collegiate games. It was the most that any Boston College freshman has ever scored, by a substantial margin, lining up behind Johnny Gaudreau’s 80-point junior season for the most by any Eagle since 2000. And to boot, Smith showed his clutch ability, recording 20 points in his latest 10 games, as the Eagles ran to the National Championship. Signing the 2023 fourth-overall pick to an NHL deal would be a huge boost for the Sharks.