Local NHL player Logan Couture calling it a career due to debilitating condition

Local hockey success story and captain of the San Jose Sharks Logan Couture has officially ended his career due to ongoing struggles with illness.

An NHL player who grew up in the London area has officially wrapped up his career.

Logan Couture is the current captain of the San Jose Sharks, where he has spent his entire professional career.

He announced his retirement on Tuesday afternoon, “My career of playing hockey has come to an end. I’m not physically able to play anymore. It’s tough. Sucks, but it is what it is.”

The 36-year-old Couture has missed all but six games since the start of the 2023-24 season because of a debilitating condition called osteitis pubis, or inflammation in the joint between the left and right pubic bones.

Couture last played a game in the NHL on Jan. 31, 2024, and has been unable to take part in on-ice training since then, leading to his decision to end his playing career.

“I loved and cherished every single moment that I got to play in this league,” he said in the announcement on Tuesday afternoon. “The NHL is everything that I thought it would be when I was a kid.”

Couture was born in Guelph, but grew up in Birr, just north of London.

He played his minor hockey in Lucan, then later with the Junior Knights and the St. Thomas Stars.

Couture was a one-time Stanley Cup finalist, losing the 2016 final against Pittsburgh, when he led all playoff skaters in scoring.

- with files from the Associated Press