The San Jose Sharks are keeping Logan Couture in The Tank. Pierre LeBrun of the The Athletic, speaking on TSN on Wednesday, said Couture and San Jose have agreed on an eight-year extension, which Couture could sign as early as Sunday when the new NHL league year begins.
Couture, 29, led the Sharks last season with goals (34) and was third on the teams with points (61). He was entering the final season of the five-year, $30 million pact that he signed in 2013. His new deal begins in 2019 and will run through the 2026-27 season.
With Couture in place for the long-term, the Sharks are now hoping to reel in John Tavares, the biggest free-agent prize of the offseason. Tavares is reportedly finished taking meetings with the six teams he reportedly scheduled sit-downs with this week in Los Angeles and now has his decision to make.
Tavares took meetings with the Boston Bruins, the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Sharks, the Dallas Stars, the Tampa Bay Lightning, and, of course, the incumbent New York Islanders. The Isles can offer Tavares an eight-year deal, while every other team can only offer him seven.
According to Craig Custance of The Athletic, the Sharks pulled out all the stops to convince Tavares to take his talents to San Jose. From Custance:
One of the things that stood out about this week's proceedings was the inclusion of Sharks owner Hasso Plattner, who joined Doug Wilson, Joe Will and Pete DeBoer in the San Jose pitch. He's also the co-founder of SAP and not an owner who typically is very visible. Often at the Board of Governors meetings, it's Wilson representing the team.
Couture has spent his entire nine-year NHL career with the Sharks, where he has amassed 437 points in 582 regular season games. He also has 81 points in 96 playoff games, including 30 in 2016 when the Sharks made the Stanley Cup Final.
