Alright sports fans, buckle up, because the San Jose Sharks are about to get a double dose of reinforcements! Get this: they’re rolling out the welcome mat tonight for not one, but two pivotal pivots as they prepare to duke it out with Anaheim. The Sharks’ social media wizards dropped the news (with all the subtlety of a slap shot) that Logan Couture and Nico Sturm are finally off the injured reserve. Oh, and to clear up some space on the roster, they’ve stashed Mikael Granlund and Ty Emberson on IR – a crafty move we saw coming since Friday.
Couture, the team’s valiant captain, has had a rough time with a mystery ailment that had everyone scratching their heads. Just when you thought medical dramas were only on TV, Couture spills the beans that he’s been grappling with osteitis pubis. Yep, it’s as nasty as it sounds. Picture this: the guy’s pain was so wicked he needed not one, but two attempts at a comeback, complete with cortisone shots and a vacation on rest island, while the team’s medical gurus played detective.
Let’s not forget, Couture’s no spring chicken at thirty-four, coming off a killer season with sixty-seven points. And get this – he actually played all eighty-two games for just the second time in his fourteen-year saga. Cue the rebuild rumors for San Jose and you betcha that every whisper of trade gossip has Couture’s name all over it. He’s gotta prove he’s still got the juice, especially with three years and an $8MM cap hit hanging over the Sharks’ heads.
On the flip side, the Sharks really need him. I mean, come on, their offense has been about as exciting as watching paint dry – we’re talking a measly eighty-nine goals in forty-five games. Dead. Last. Plop Couture next to Alexander Barabanov and Fabian Zetterlund, and maybe, just maybe, they’ll score enough to avoid looking like they’re skating in mud.
Now, for Sturm, the twenty-eight-year-old is back after giving his wrist a time-out for over a month. The stats might not scream ‘superstar’ with a whopping two goals and two assists over twenty-six games, but hey, the guy’s a faceoff wizard, sitting pretty at just over sixty-two percent. With the trade deadline looming, teams that fancy boosting their faceoff swagger and penalty-killing prowess might start circling Sturm like sharks. After all, he’s there for the taking with a $2MM tab and only a year left on his lease.
So, there you have it – the Sharks’ master plan. Will it be enough to keep them from sinking further into the depths of the league? The puck drops tonight. Stay tuned!