SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — San Jose Sharks captain Logan Couture is expected to announce he will end his playing career because of a debilitating injury that has sidelined him for more than 15 months.

The Sharks announced Monday that Couture and general manager Mike Grier will hold a news conference on Tuesday. Daily Faceoff reported that Couture will announce that he will not be able to return from the injury.

The Sharks declined to comment on the nature of the news conference on Tuesday.

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.

Couture has two years remaining on the eight-year, $64 million contract that he signed in July 2018, and is owed $13 million in salary over the next two seasons. Couture will not officially announce his retirement and continue to get paid, while counting $8 million on San Jose’s salary cap in each of those seasons.

Couture missed the first 45 games last season because of the injury before returning to play six games in January. That made the injury worse and he has been shut down since then and hasn’t played or practiced with the team.

Couture had been a stalwart in San Jose and was one of the few remaining ties to the team’s successful runs in the 2010s. He was named captain of the team at the start of the 2019-20 season.

He had 323 goals and 378 assists in 933 career games and was a postseason star. He has 48 goals and 53 assists in 116 playoff games and led all players in postseason goals in 2019 with 14 and in postseason assists (20) and points (30) in 2016.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL