It was associated with a common theme or talking point. SharksTheir quest for more offense in the offseason: Find a captain Logan CoutureSome of your regular linemates.
Couture had a successful season in 2021-22. He scored 23 goals and scored 56 points in 77 matches. Every mention of those statistics came with a disclaimer — he produced those totals despite a constant churn of wingers next to him. Save for an early-season stretch with the club’s top offensive weapon, Timo MeierCouture was faced with a diverse group of linemen while Bob Boughner assigned him some of the most challenging defensive assignments every game.
Matt Nieto Alexander Barabanov flanked Couture at Sharks Ice for practice Wednesday. They will become the eighth- and ninth wingers to skate with Couture during the 2022-23 season.
“I haven’t done that,” Sharks coach David Quinn said of finding consistent wingers for Couture. “That hasn’t happened yet.”
Couture’s offense could be improved by having a few wingers next to him.
“Yes, without question,” Quinn said. “If a line is going to create some chemistry, it has to play together. You don’t want to constantly be making changes, but with our situation there are moving pieces here, right? There’s a lot of newness, there’s a lot of guys that are trying to find their role find their identity and there’s a new staff. So unfortunately that’s the situation we’re in. We’re trying to find a way to make it workable, and it might take a little more time than we all want.”
Oskar Lindblom and Kevin LabancCouture began the season beside Lindblom. Lindblom played in one game. Steven LorentzMeier moved to the left wing. Couture won a game with Meier, which ended in a loss of 5-2 on Long Island. Nick Bonino, who finished last season with some success on Couture’s wing, went into that spot until he got hurt in New Jersey. Noah GregorBonino was replaced, and it seemed like Nieto would be the next in line after Wednesday’s practice.
The right side has seen a bit less turnover. Luke KuninLabanc could be replaced by Barabanov, although he might slip down from the top-line to play there against the Toronto Maple Leafs. If it is Nieto Barabanov on Thursday, the only wingers who have appeared in the Sharks lineup that haven’t seen time on the second line are Evgeny Svechnikov and Jonah Gadjovich.
“I’ve got to find some chemistry. That’s not on the other guys,” Couture said. “I make a lot of money. I’ve got to help those guys out. I don’t think there has been many good ones (for my line). Two? Perhaps two of the nine? So I obviously need to play better.”
Couture holds the team lead in forward points with four goals in nine games. Meier is ahead of Couture with two goals. Tomas Hertl combined. Couture has one of the team’s two power-play goals, and the only one created by the first unit.
Two goals and four point in nine games isn’t enough to match the standards Couture or his teammates set for themselves. It’s an extremely small sample and one good weekend could turn that around pretty quickly, but it’s not just about goals and points.
Couture said he doesn’t pay a lot of attention to advanced statistics like Corsi or expected goals. These numbers, while more alarming than the conventional stats, have some caveats.
According to the Sharks, 36.97% of shot attempts by Couture when Couture is on the five-on-five ice have been made so far this season. Natural Stat Trick. That’s the second-worst mark on the team, ahead of only Gregor. The other forwards in that range — Kunin, Bonino and Lorentz — have all spent time next to the captain.
Couture’s expected goals for percentage is a little better — 44.71 percent isn’t ideal, but it’s better than the Corsi (shot attempts), scoring chances (38.32 percent), shots on goal (40.38 percent) and most importantly the actual goals scored (San Jose has been outscored 6-2 when he’s on the ice).
A big caveat here, beyond the lack of consistency with his wingers, is Couture’s usage. Boughner always assigned him the hardest assignments. Quinn said he hasn’t really focused on matchups too much yet with the Sharks, but a quick peek at the opponents that Couture has spent the most time on the ice with is a pretty clear indication of what his role still is.
He was more aggressive against the Filip ForsbergLine than any other against Nashville. It was Jack Eichel’s line Tuesday night against Vegas Sebastian Aho’s line against Carolina. He was more aggressive against Jack Hughes than anyone else in New Jersey’s forward corps. Same for Artemi PanarinAnd the Rangers.
“I think Logan can do a lot of things. He’s obviously a guy that is responsible defensively but he’s an offensive player,” Quinn said. “I would like to get to the point where (Nico) Sturm’s line and Lorentz’s line can play against the top line so Logan doesn’t have to burden that responsibility. I haven’t been too caught up in matchups so far this year. I don’t think we are that team right now. We’re trying to find combinations, and I’m much more concerned what we’re doing. I don’t want to get to the point where someone else is dictating who we’re putting out there.”
Couture was also on the ice for 58 defense-zone faceoffs. That’s the second-most on the team behind defenseman Radim Simek. Tough assignments, either because of the quality of competition or where shifts begin, can have an effect on a player’s puck possession stats, particularly in small samples.
Couture certainly hasn’t stopped relishing the role he’s expected to fulfill. He’s still been stout defensively in most of San Jose’s games. He’s still been a dominant penalty killer. And he doesn’t want to just survive those minutes at even strength — winning them against the other team’s best players would be a huge advantage.
“That’s why I play the game,” Couture said. “If I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, this is going to be tough tonight,’ there is no point in showing up at the rink and we’ve already lost. That’s why I’m still playing. This is my 14th year of playing, and I still enjoy it. I try to win some games, and help my team win hockey games. There’s no better feeling than winning hockey games. Perhaps when I get married, and have children, it will be even better. But right now winning hockey games is the best of the best.”
Logan Couture and Erik Karlsson, Christopher Hanewinckel / USA Today
This is not the only thing to keep in mind. The Sharks’ defense, as it is currently constructed, is extremely dependent on Erik KarlssonTo generate offense.
At five-on-five, the Sharks have scored 13 goals and Karlsson has been there for 10. He has three goals, and a team-leading six point total. Sturm and Svechnikov have been the team’s surprising offensive duo, combining for six goals and eight points. Sturm, who has been playing five-on-five at five with Karlsson for 33 minutes, has scored five goals.
There’s no argument against the idea that San Jose is a more dangerous offensive team when No. 65 is present on the ice.
It’s not that Couture hasn’t played with Karlsson — he plays a lot, so he ends up on the ice with everyone. Couture and Karlsson have had 42:55 minutes of ice together, more than any Sharks defenceman. But the top-line duo of Meier and Hertl has gotten a lot more — 64:19 for Hertl and 71:24 for Meier.
While the top line hasn’t scored enough goals this season as well, Meier, Hertl and other members of that group are moving up after the last few matches. They are close to a breakthrough and more offense from them could be a relief to a club looking to score more goals. Karlsson and his linemates have better numbers than Couture, so they also have better underlying numbers.
San Jose outshot its rivals 24-17, and outscored them 2 to 1 when Couture and Karlsson play together on the ice. If they are both on the ice together, their expected goals percentage of 61.15%. When Couture is out there without Karlsson, the numbers take a serious tumble — 29.92 percent of the shot attempts, 28.57 percent of the shots on goal, 32.35 percent of the expected goals and a 5-0 deficit on the scoreboard.
So play Karlsson more with Couture’s line and less with Hertl’s or Sturm’s right? Simple solution … except it isn’t that simple. Their roles — Karlsson as the most offensive of the defensemen and Couture as a defensive stopper — make it difficult to hunt extra shifts for them together.
“Sometimes you want to get Erik out there for an offensive zone faceoff and it is whichever line is out there depending on rest, where it’s at, if it’s an icing, things like that. There are a lot of things that go into those decisions,” Quinn said. “I like him out there with either or, (Couture)’s line or Hertl’s line. It’s not that I want him out there more with Hertl’s line, even if it does evolve that way sometimes.”
It’s not a problem with easy solutions. Maybe one answer could be William Eklund or Thomas Bordeleau, but that offers a similar conundrum to chasing more Couture-Karlsson ice time — if the Sharks do recall one of their top offensive prospects at some point, is Quinn going to send them over the boards with Couture against players like Eichel, Forsberg, Hughes and Panarin for a bunch of shifts in every game?
The Sharks will need more of that line, whether it’s a couple of the wingers standing out and earning those spots or Couture helping them develop chemistry.
(Photo: Danny Wild/USA Today)
