Logan Couture agreed to a $64 million : 0xbt
Log in

Logan Couture agreed to a $64 million

    laiyongcai92
    By laiyongcai92
    SAN JOSE Adidas Jonathan Bernier Jersey , Calif. (AP) eight-year contract extension with the San Jose Sharks on Saturday, according to a person familiar with the deal.The person told The Associated Press that the deal will become official as soon as Sunday, when Couture is eligible to sign the extension. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal hasn’t been announced.Couture is entering the final year of a $30 million, five-year contract and now will be locked up through the 2026-27 season.Couture was a first-round pick by San Jose in 2007 and has said he never wants to leave the franchise. He has developed into one of the Sharks’ top forwards since making his debut in 2009 and is coming off a career-high 34-goal season.Couture was San Jose’s most dependable center last season, often matching up against the opponent’s top line and providing plenty of offense of his own from the second line. Couture had 21 assists last year and was a major part of the power play and penalty killing units.The 29-year-old has 213 goals and 224 assists in 582 career games. He also has been a postseason standout, leading the NHL with 30 points in 2016 when he helped San Jose reach the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in franchise history before losing to Pittsburgh in six games.Couture has 34 goals and 47 assists in 96 career playoff games, ranking in the top 10 in the NHL in playoff goals and points since making his postseason debut in 2010.Locking up Couture was the first move made by general manager Doug Wilson this offseason. San Jose still is looking to re-sign center Joe Thornton and is making a run at New York Islanders center John Tavares.Thornton will be 39 next season and coming off his second major knee injury. He tore the ACL and MCL in his right knee on Jan. 23 and never returned to the lineup. He had a similar injury to his left knee the previous season and played four games in the postseason before undergoing offseason surgery.Thornton still performed at a high level last season after taking some time to get back up to speed. He had 11 goals and 15 assists in his final 28 games before the injury.The Sharks also met with Tavares this week, hoping to lure the top available free agent to San Jose. Tavares, who turns 28 in September, is one of the top centers in the league and would step into Thornton’s old role on the top line.The No. 1 overall pick by the New York Islanders in 2009 is coming off one of his most productive seasons as a pro. He had 37 goals and 47 assists last season, finishing one off his career best in both marks.Adding Tavares would provide perhaps the only missing piece to make the Sharks one of the top contenders for the Stanley Cup next season. San Jose lost in six games in the second round to eventual Western Conference champion Vegas and has a stellar defense led by Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Brent Burns Adidas Paul Thompson Jersey , a reliable goaltender in Martin Jones, and forwards like Couture, Evander Kane and captain Joe Pavelski already under contract.Pavelski also is entering the final year of his contract and is eligible for an extension starting Sunday. Pavelski turns 34 this month.— SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Tomas Hertl needed just three games to get his first NHL hat trick. It was more than a five-year wait for the second one, which came while he’s playing perhaps the best hockey of his career.Hertl knocked down Evgeni Malkin with his backside to score his first goal, got the second off a rebound and capped a big night with an empty-net goal that gave him 100 for his career and sealed the seventh straight win for the San Jose Sharks, 5-2 over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday.“It was wild. It was over five years,” Hertl said. “I scored it in my third game. It had been a while. It’s always fun and guys were just looking for me. I had an easy job on the last one and just knocked it in.”Joe Thornton celebrated his 1,000th game for San Jose with a goal, Marcus Sorensen also scored and Evander Kane had three assists as the Sharks improved to 16-3-2 in their past 21 games with a convincing victory over the dangerous Penguins.Martin Jones made 22 saves to tie a career best by winning his eighth straight start.“I thought that was as complete a game as we’ve played all year,” coach Peter DeBoer said. “I thought our defense was solid, Jonesy was solid Adidas Troy Brouwer Jersey , special teams. And we did get contributions from all four lines. I really thought, especially the second period, we really set the game up for ourselves with how well we played.”Kris Letang and Derick Brassard scored for the Penguins, who have lost two in a row following a stretch of 10 wins in 11 games. Matt Murray stopped 24 shots but had his career-high nine-game winning streak snapped.“They brought their A game tonight,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “They were really good. They’re one of the better teams we’ve played this season. They outplayed us all over the rink. We weren’t good enough and I know we are better than that. We didn’t execute tonight.”One game after Brent Burns capped his 1,000th career game with a game-winning goal for San Jose, Thornton made the most of his milestone appearance as well by scoring in the second period. After Sorensen drew a delayed penalty, the Sharks set up in the offensive zone. Joe Pavelski fed Thornton in the slot for a one-timer that beat Murray to give him 18 seasons with at least 10 goals.That led to another long ovation for Thornton, who received one in the first period when a tribute for his 1,000th game in San Jose was shown on the videoboard.“Jumbo’s breaking a record every shift, so we’re kind of getting sick and tired of it as a group,” Kane quipped. “Every time out. His 1 Adidas Michael Hutchinson Jersey ,000th game as a Shark, passing (Mario) Lemieux, (Wayne) Gretzky and whoever else on whatever other list he’s climbing. It’s good to see him find the back of the net. A big one-timer there. That was a big goal to help us extend the lead.”Brassard scored late for the Penguins after Murray had been pulled, but it wasn’t enough as the Sharks restored their three-goal lead with Hertl’s empty-netter.The Penguins opened the scoring when Letang finished a brilliant end-to-end rush by skating around Erik Karlsson and beating Jones with a backhand. But the Sharks got most of the chances after that and took control with two quick goals of their own.They tied the game when Karlsson’s shot from the top of the circle deflected off Sorensen and into the net. San Jose took the lead with a highlight-reel goal from Hertl, who got the puck in the corner, knocked down Malkin, skated toward the middle, deked Jack Johnson and beat Murray to the far side.“They outdid us in every zone,” Penguins forward Phil Kessel said. “Obviously, we didn’t do the little things right. They got to our net a lot. They got some rebound goals. Offensively we didn’t create enough opportunities for our guys.”NOTES: Sharks forward Joonas Donskoi played after missing the final two periods Saturday with an apparent head injury. … San Jose D Marc-Edouard Vlasic missed his sixth straight game with an undisclosed injury.UP NEXTPenguins: Visit the Arizona Coyotes on Friday.Sharks: At the Coyotes on Wednesday.