San Jose Sharks fans have plenty of memories of Logan Couture and what he meant to the team and to them, particularly as fans. At his retirement ceremony yesterday, the Sharks created a small shrine to the key moments in Couture’s history with the Sharks.
During his speech, Couture shared with the group some of his favorite memories, including when he was called up to the NHL.
“My first NHL game was in October in 2009. I remember that we played in Worcester the night prior. It was a Saturday. We won. I was out after the game. I was excited. We just won the hockey game. Roy Sommer called me into his office at the DCU Center, and he said, ‘You’re going up.’ My jaw just hit the floor … couldn’t believe it,” said Couture.
“That next day, flew to Philadelphia. The whole day was kind of a whirlwind. I really don’t remember much about that day, but I remember when I walked out to the ice in warm up, I just couldn’t believe how loud the music was and how bright all the lights were, skating around the warm up, just thinking, ‘You did it. You made it. This is what you wanted to do.’ I could have finished after that one game and been happy,” Courture continued.
“My first NHL goal in Detroit, at the Joe on Chris Osgood. I had friends and family there,” recalled Couture. “For me, it was special because the Red Wings were the dynasty in the late 90s and the early 2000s. They’re the team that I always watched. I love Steve Yzerman, so that was a special moment, especially doing it in that arena. It just felt different when you walked in there. There’s so much history.”
And while Couture knows there was a lot of winning during his career, there were two playoff memories that jumped into his mind when he reflected on his career.
“Game Six, 2016 against St. Louis. I scored into an empty net, about 30 seconds left,” said Couture. “I remember skating around … to clinch the series … I remember skating around the net, and I looked at Shark fans in the front row, and they were cheering, but the looks on their faces, it was almost disbelief and relief put together that we’re going to go play in Stanley Cup Finals. I remember Patty [Patrick Marleau], Pavs [Joe Pavelski] came into the pile soon after that, and they had that same look on their face. Couldn’t believe it, but it felt so nice. Unfortunately, we didn’t win it all. We fell short that year, but that was a special year.”
And then, of course, there was the win over the Vegas Golden Knights in 2019.
“2019, Game Seven against the Golden Knights. What a game. The energy in this building, unmatched. Loudest building I’ve ever been inside,” said Couture. “I told this story to a lot of the guys on the team that asked me about it, but if you’ve ever been to a nightclub and sat beside the speaker for a couple hours, and then you leave that nightclub and you’re on the street and your ears are ringing. You can’t hear what anyone’s saying. That’s what it was like between the third period of overtime, guys trying to talk to me. I was trying to talk to them, but I couldn’t understand, hear what they were saying. Thankfully, Goody [Barclay Goodrow] was there to win that one for us.
“Another funny story about that night. The game ends. Obviously, the adrenaline and the energy was off the chart. I went out to the family room and Goody’s [Goodrow’s] dad was there. He gave me a big hug and whispered in my ear, ‘What was Barclay doing on the ice?'” recalled Couture.
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