Couture proving to be a worthy captain
Logan Couture displayed his leadership style following an overtime loss this week, and Sharks fans should approve.
San Jose’s new captain publicly called out teammates Timo Meier and Kevin Labanc after the two extended a shift in overtime that led to Buffalo scoring the deciding goal Tuesday.
“It’s a selfish play that doesn’t need to be part of this team,” Couture said during a televised interview after the game. Couture said he told Meier and Labanc the same thing immediately after the game, and the topic was discussed again between all parties concerned, including the coaching staff, Wednesday.
This is the way good teams handle business. I suspect this is no different than how things were handled during Joe Pavelski’s run as captain from 201518 or when Joe Thornton wore the ‘C’ from 201014. It just didn’t seep out from behind closed doors.
The difference is Couture didn’t hold back in public, which is fine in my book.
Meier and Labanc said they didn’t take the criticism personally. They knew they’d made the wrong decision to stay on the ice looking for offense, then changing slowly when the puck headed back into the San Jose end. They said it would not happen again.
Both are young players who are getting paid to score goals. But that doesn’t excuse anyone from playing the game right.
And yet both players were anything but selfish during offseason contract negotiations.
Meier, 23, was part of a standout group of restricted free agents leaguewide after breakthrough 201819 season, his second full campaign in the league. He had 30 goals and 66 points — both tops for a Swissborn player in NHL history.
However, Meier was the first to resign (four years, $24 million). He avoided protracted negotiations that could have led to a holdout, and allowed general manager Doug Wilson to pursue other summer business knowing better what he could spend.
Labanc, 23, was also coming off an entrylevel deal with a careerbest 17 goals and 56 points while appearing in all 82 games. He was a key contributor in the postseason as well, highlighted by his goal and three assists during San Jose’s historic four powerplay goals in a 4:01 span of the third period of a Game 7 against Vegas.
Betting he could cash in next summer after taking another step this year — and help Wilson’s checkbook for 201920 — Labanc signed a bargainbasement oneyear, $1 million deal that turned a lot of heads.
Each was scoreless after the season’s first four games — all resulting in San Jose losses — and both started to press. The ninth game of the season Tuesday was the Sharks’ first venture into overtime, and Labanc and Meier were paired together for the first time in sudden death. Coach Peter DeBoer might rethink that forward pairing next time.
But back to Couture. The 30yearold in his 11th NHL season — all with the Sharks — is surrounded by strong leaders. In addition to former captains Thornton and Patrick Marleau, Erik Karlsson was a longtime captain in Ottawa. Brent Burns, Tomas Hertl, Evander Kane, MarcEdouard Vlasic and Brenden Dillon are all part of the team’s strong, vocal and supportive leadership whether they wear a letter or not.
Couture is vocal, and he’s 100% honest. DeBoer said last year that Couture and Pavelski were probably the two Sharks who hated losing the most. And that’s saying something because Jumbo Joe is as competitive as they come.
The Sharks miss Pavelski’s goalscoring ability, his professionalism and unwavering determination. But they’ve got the right guy to fill a void left in terms of the captaincy.
Couture proved that Tuesday night in Buffalo.
Outdoors already: Those looking for an early outdoor fix should tune in Saturday night when the Calgary Flames meet the Winnipeg Jets at Mosiac Field, home of the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League. The forecast appears good to go as it does not call for snow until
Sunday. The Jets are the “home” team, even though the stadium’s location, in Regina, is about 350 miles to the west of Winnipeg; Calgary is a further 470 miles west. Record start: Off to a crazy hot start, Capitals defenseman John Carlson looked to extend a point streak to 10 games when Washington visited Vancouver on Friday. With 21 points in 12 games through Thursday, Carlson joined Bobby Orr as the only blue liners to lead the league in scoring after the season’s first 23 days. Briefly: Strange, but true. The Sharks have won nine straight over the Montreal Canadiens. … San Jose signed 2019 secondround pick Dillon Hamaliuk to an entrylevel contract. Hamaliuk, 18, is playing junior hockey with the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League. … Interesting early stat: Of the 17 coach’s challenges through Thursday, 12 calls were overturned. Of course the five that were upheld meant the failed challenge cost the challenging team a minor penalty.