Logan Couture's Top Potential Landing Spots Amid Sharks, NHL Trade Rumors

Logan Couture's days with the San Jose Sharks are seemingly numbered.

Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reported Tuesday that he believes Couture "is a prime trade candidate" this season after the Sharks moved star defenseman Erik Karlsson to the Pittsburgh Penguins over the summer.

With the Sharks seemingly far from contending for a Stanley Cup, the franchise could try to part ways with Couture for future assets that will accelerate a rebuild.

Couture remains one of the top centers in the NHL heading into his 15th season. He's coming off a 2022-23 campaign in which he notched 27 goals and 40 assists for 67 points in 82 games on a San Jose team that struggled to a 22-44-16 finish.

However, it's important to note that Couture has a modified no-trade clause and would need to approve a trade if any team interested isn't on his list. Additionally, he has four more seasons on a contract worth $8 million annually, which won't be easy for most teams to fit under the salary cap.

With the 34-year-old seemingly on the market, here's a few landing spots for the veteran, who is currently considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury that he suffered during offseason training.

Nashville Predators

The Nashville Predators might just be the top landing spot for Couture on this list.

Nashville took an aggressive approach to the offseason by signing veteran Ryan O'Reilly to center its top line alongside Filip Forsberg. However, after moving on from both Ryan Johansen and Matt Duchene, the Preds have a clear need for another centerman.

Behind O'Reilly, the Preds are slated to start Cody Glass, Thomas Novak and Colton Sissons down the middle. That's not a very competitive lineup, especially in a tough Central Division.

The Predators could also make more than enough room to accommodate Couture's contract. They are projected to have $7.1 million in cap space, per CapFriendly, and it likely wouldn't be too difficult to free up the additional money to fit him under the salary cap.

Nashville missed the playoffs last year for the first time since the the 2013-14 season after finishing with a 42-32-8 record. If the team hopes to make it back to the postseason, adding a player of Couture's caliber should be a priority, especially with the amount of cap space it has.

Boston Bruins

After losing their top two centers in Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci to retirement over the summer, the Boston Bruins have a clear need for a top-line center that can play alongside Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak.

The Bruins are currently slated to enter the 2023-24 season with Pavel Zacha and Charlie Coyle as their top two centers. Morgan Geekie and Johnny Beecher are expected to center the third and fourth lines, respectively.

That's a massive drop-off in talent, and the Bruins would benefit from adding a player like Couture, who has been a consistent 20-plus goalscorer throughout his career and is a proven leader in the locker room.

However, it's unclear if the Bruins would be open to pursuing Couture with his $8 million cap hit. Boston is projected to have just $429,166 in cap space, per CapFriendly, so the franchise would have to move some considerable assets if they hope to pursue Couture.

The Bruins don't have many expensive offensive assets available to move, but some defenders could be expendable to free up some cap space.

Matt Grzelcyk is entering the final year of his contract with a cap hit worth nearly $3.7 million, and Derek Forbort also carries a $3 million cap hit that could be moved as he's entering the final year of his deal.

That would allow the Bruins to insert young defenders such as Mason Lohrei and Jakub Zboril into the lineup, though losing Grzelcyk would result in a considerable downgrade on the blue line.

Regardless, a move for Couture should at least be a consideration for Boston, especially if the team's offense struggles early on.

Washington Capitals

The Washington Capitals have no cap space entering the 2023-24 season, but that doesn't mean they can't make room.

Veteran center Evgeny Kuznetsov has been linked in trade rumors with just two more years remaining on his contract and a cap hit worth $7.8 million annually. With Kuznetsov seemingly looking for a fresh start, maybe a swapping of centers could be in store for the Capitals and Sharks.

After missing the playoffs last season for the first time since the 2013-14 campaign, the Capitals need to bring in some more talent if they hope to contend for another Stanley Cup title in the Alex Ovechkin era.

Nicklas Backstom will center Washington's top line alongside Ovechkin, but if the team was to move on from Kuznetsov, there would be a pretty big gap down the middle with Dylan Strome and Nic Dowd serving as the third and fourth line centers, respectively.

With Couture aiming to win his first Stanley Cup title, he could bring a lot of juice to a Caps squad aiming to bounce back from a mediocre 2022-23 season.