Logan Couture dealing with injury issues, out 3-4 weeks
More bad news for the beleaguered Sharks forward corps as Logan Couture has apparently been dealing with ongoing injury issues.
Ahead of the Sharks center potentially being named to the Canadian Olympic team tomorrow morning, TSN's Bob McKenzie dropped this bit of unsavory news regarding Logan Couture's status:
Hearing SJS forward Logan Couture is dealing with an injury issue but sense is he might be OK for Olympics.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) January 7, 2014
CSN Bay Area's Kevin Kurz reported earlier that Couture has missed practice a couple of times over the past week, potentially a result of the ailment McKenzie is referring to here. But it's also worth noting Couture limped to the bench during last night's 3-2 win over Chicago after a nasty-looking collision with Patrick Kane at the Blackhawks blueline. He finished the game, and even scored in the shootout, but hopefully that incident didn't tweak whatever issues he had already been dealing with.
San Jose's forward corps just can't seem to catch a break when it comes to health lately with Tomas Hertl on the shelf following knee surgery, Marty Havlat out with a lower-body injury, Tommy Wingels out with an upper-body injury and Tyler Kennedy afflicted with the flu. Unsurprisingly, forward Freddie Hamilton was recalled from Worcester earlier today which one hopes has more to do with the ongoing uncertainty surrounding Wingels and Kennedy than Couture. The last thing the Sharks need right now, with five top-nine forwards already out of the lineup, is their tough-minutes second-line center becoming unavailable.
Update: According to Mercury News beat writer David Pollak, It's a hand injury for which Couture will undergo a procedure on Wednesday morning. He's out 3-4 weeks, which just about decimates what little forward depth the Sharks had left and possibly jeopardizes his spot on the Olympic roster. Welp.