This article will be another in my series of player profiles, where I look at each player on the San Jose Sharks and assess how they performed this season. This article will focus on Logan Couture.
Couture played almost exactly as many minutes as he did over the two previous seasons, averaging around 18:30 per game. He really did it all for the team, leading all Sharks forwards in power play time per game, while also averaging 1:41 per game on the penalty kill.
Statistically, this was a pretty standard season for San Jose’s new captain. He scored 16 goals and 39 points, despite only playing in 52 games due to a fractured ankle, which put him on pace for 25 goals and 62 points per 82 games. His goals for percentage was also the highest amongst any player on the Sharks to play more than 20 games this season, according to NaturalStatTrick.com.
That said, his expected goals for percentage was much lower and was actually one of the worst of any Sharks forward to play at least 30 games. His corsi for percentage was also below 50 per cent for only the second time in his 11 NHL seasons. I’d expect Couture bounces back but that’ll be something to keep an eye on going forward. He also once again struggled in the faceoff circle, winning just 44 per cent of draws, after he had been creeping closer to the 50 per cent mark in the last couple of seasons.
Couture still has seven years remaining on his monster contract and while I didn’t like the length of the contract based on his age, there’s still likely a few years before we have to worry about any regression. Couture will remain one of San Jose’s key forwards and leaders on the team for years to come.
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Here’s today’s poll question (results and discussion will be posted in a future article):
How many goals do you expect from Logan Couture next season?
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