Couture’s Exit IGNITES Speculation About Sharks’ Next Captain | Is Celebrini Ready?

21 comments

1. Hey JD, huge fan love the videos! I have 2 questions for you
   -Can the Sharks reach 30 wins next season?
   -after the offseason and FA signings will we have a very good top six?
   <3

2. I've always liked Couture, but he should've had one more year with pavs. it was the ek65 deal that kept us from building a better team around him and Hertl. Just bad luck for the guy, he was there for big moments for sure though.

3. Celebrini earned the C for next year. I think he will hit this off-season with ferocity and determination to get wins next season.

4. Damn I wasn't ready for the emotionally memory wall you smacked me with this morning. Congrats Couture, we miss you around here.

5. Another wonderful episode from JD. I agree with your sentiments on Coots. I remember when they drafted him and his first game with the Worcester Sharks. He was a good player then, but like most all good players he had to play a couple seasons in the AHL before joining the Sharks.

   When drafting he was identified as a potential captain of an NHL team by many scouts and that is exactly what he became. A constant professional that was direct and honest with the media, but (admittedly) could seem a bit surly.

   IMO he was a great player for the Sharks and like you said it is a shame he could not end his career the way he would have liked to. Anything outside of hockey is his personal business, but I wish him all the best.

   For him and his family.

6. Nope, that C should not just be given.

7. Loved your thoughts on the cap and his possible semi-retirement effects it has on it. I am of the same mind as you when it comes to that. The Sharks MUST be patient with their rebuild and spend wisely (as GMMG has continued to do) on FAs and RFAs, or when making deals to either acquire or ship out talent.

   He did great acquiring the players he has and made the most of his trades. He acquired a lot of players last offseason for the Sharks (Toffoli, Askarov, Wennberg, Dellandria, Grundstrom, Ceci, and Walman) and added to that at the beginning of this season when he acquired Lilljegren.

   The team improved from last season, but looking back and taking the cap situation into account, it was not the start of the build. When really getting into the weeds, the cap is not entirely clear until next season.

   GMMG did this on purpose of course. Even when looking at the trades he made, he ensured that after next season he has no obligations to any players other than Toffoli and others that signed their ELCs.

   Many fans look at players like Hoffman acquired in the EK trade and say why did GMMG take that contract? They need to understand that he did not want Hoffman, he had to take him to facilitate the trade. Same goes with Rutta and Granny. Those teams wanted them gone and GMMG had to take them to move on from the EK contract.

   Retained contracts aside, GMMG cleared up the cap. Now, he can make some moves if he chooses, but I would not expect (as you said) for GMMG to go on some spending spree.

   He is disciplined and cautious in his signings. He will overpay where he must, but he will not jump the gun. Like you said, he has aligned his cap with his young players.

   This offseason it is Kovalenko, Thompson and Muk (among other minor contracts), next offseason it is Eklund, Ostapchuk, and Thrun.

   The major idea here is that even with all those moves GMMG made for this season, only one contract was more than two years (again excluding the numerous ELCs). It is step in improvement that seems minor but has had major implications for the development of their young talent.

   My expectation is that GMMG will make more improvements on the team by adding players, but I would be surprised if GMMG goes anywhere near the cap ceiling. My bet is he keeps a nice 10-15 million in cap space as a buffer to make more moves during the season.

   This way, if a player like a Nemec is available he can go get them without worrying about taking on a salary as part of a deal. To me, cap flexibility is what GMMG is all about. The ability to pivot at any time to acquire what he considers a building piece for the present and/or future of the Sharks.

   I think he wants to build a dynasty, not a cap contender. For that he needs cap space, he needs to draft and develop well, and he needs a deep pool of talent that will continue to feed the Sharks system.

   And that is what he is doing. Spending a ton of cap in the offseason for older vets does not fit into that. Nor does paying a long term contract for a player that will be of no use to the team when need to compete and will need that cap space to continue to dominate in the future.

   Just some thoughts.

8. If the Sharks don't get Couture off the books, they will show free agents they are not a serious organization. They don't need to worry about re-signing the young guys either. The young guys will find more serious new teams

9. My top 5 Coooooch Moments:
   1. 2019 Vegas Comeback Goals (R1, G7)
   2. Entire 2016 playoff run
   3. Knocking Lucic on his bum and then laughing at him in 2015-16
   4. His empty netter vs STL in 2016 to seal the series and send Sharks to finals
   5. 2013 OT winner vs LA in round 2. What a celly

   Anybody else have their favorites? I knew deep down this day was coming, but I had hopes that he could maybe play again one day. Thank you so much Cooch for all the memories. I hope that you can spend more time with your family and get healthy! Sharks playoff legend!!

10. I say give the C to Tyler, give the A to mac
    Logan was good but so injured cant skate, he needs to retire, he knows his playing days are done

11. Honestly screw couture man. His whole legacy is ruined by him messing with our salary cap

12. where in the heck did you get that hat??? i neeeedddd

13. Let Celebrini cook a little longer. Too young for the burden of the C. He will get it in time.

14. Do you think we'll be serious players to overpay the bigger names on the market? Not even talking about Tavares/Marner, specifically Boeser/Ehlers/Ekblad/Pionk.

15. As a sharks fan I like that we’re able to keep Couture on the books even tho he’s never going to play again…. But I’m surprised the NHL allows something like that. You’d think the NHL Competition Committee would maybe want to not allow teams to count player’s salaries who aren’t ever playing again to count toward the salary floor requirement.

    I’m fine with it, as doing this will help ensure we get another top 10 pick next year again… but it’s weird that this is allowed by the NHLPA.

16. Personally I think we have no C next year but Celebrini gets an A and I think so does Eklund (Eklund is mainly personal high hopes) then Celebrini gets the C the following year when he's 20 and has a bit more experience under his belt and has truly shown he can lead this team

17. Remember Cooch's first season when he was an All-Star? He got the "booby prize" for being the last player selected by the captains, the player no one wanted. He gave the Honda SUV to his brother, he said he already had a Range Rover…

18. How can a contract be set up that he'll be paid for not playing if he's not on IR??

19. Thank you, Logan!

20. Dig the Hat JD!!!

21. Blues fan here! Congrats to Logan for a great career. Miss the days of Sharks / Blues playoffs meetups.