San Jose Sharks captain Logan Couture remains out indefinitely

San Jose Sharks captain Logan Couture remains out indefinitely

SAN JOSE — Injured centerman Logan Couture will miss the San Jose Sharks’ season-opening game this week against the Vegas Golden Knights and there remains no timeline for his return, coach David Quinn said Tuesday.

Couture took Tuesday off as he continues to recover from an undisclosed lower-body injury that occurred well before Sharks training camp began on Sept. 21.

Couture has been showing signs of improvement in recent days, notably doing some light skating away from the team last Friday and on Monday, but Quinn said the Sharks captain remains week-to-week.

“It’s going to be some time, but we’re optimistic,” Quinn said. “We feel good about him moving forward.”

Couture said at the start of training camp three weeks ago that he desperately wanted to play in Thursday’s opener against the defending Stanley Cup champion Golden Knights at SAP Center. Couture, 34, has played in every season-opening Sharks game since 2010 when he was starting his first full NHL season.

Couture will begin the season as an injured non-roster player after he failed his physical at the start of training camp. He can return to the Sharks’ 23-man active roster whenever he is physically able to play.

“He was excited (Monday) and he’s frustrated because he’s not out there just yet,” Quinn said. “But he understands it’s going take a little bit of time.”

The Sharks play nine times in the first 18 days of the season, with seven of those games coming against playoff teams from last year.

After Thursday, the Sharks continue their season-opening homestand with games against the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday, the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday, and the Boston Bruins on Oct. 19. That’s followed by a nine-day road trip from Oct. 21-29 with games against Nashville, Florida, Tampa Bay, Carolina, and Washington.

The Sharks are hoping to avoid the same disastrous start they had last season when they lost their first five games in regulation time and began the year with a record of 3-9-3. But that figures to be a difficult assignment without Couture, San Jose’s do-everything forward who was second on the team in scoring last season with 67 points.

For now, center Thomas Bordeleau is taking Couture’s spot in the lineup, as he’s skated on a line with wingers Anthony Duclair and Alexander Barabanov the last two days.

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