Logan Couture's career is over.

This is a tough one.

Although it has yet to be made it official, it appears as though the career of 36 year old San Jose Sharks star forward Logan Couture will come to a premature end.

It was National Hockey League insider Frank Seravalli who broke the news on Monday, reporting that both the Sharks and Couture have scheduled a press conference for Tuesday where they will announce that Couture can no longer continue to play hockey at the NHL level. According to Seravalli, the reason for Couture's early exit from the sport is injury, with Couture suffering from a condition known as osteitis pubis.

Osteitis pubis is an inflammation of the pubic symphysis, which is the joint where your body's two pubic bones meet. The condition can be extremely debilitating, and I can only imagine that it becomes that much more debilitating when attempting to play a sport at the level that Couture does in the NHL. This condition often occurs in athletes that have had pelvic surgery and Couture did indeed go under the knife in the summer of 2023 to address a groin issue that he was dealing with at the time.

Since that time Couture has largely been absent from NHL action, appearing in only 6 games during the 2023-24 regular season. Despite dealing with a debilitating injury such as this, Couture managed to record an assist during that brief stretch of play.

This season Couture was never able to make a return to the ice and did not appear in a single game for the Sharks, something that has no doubt contributed to tomorrow's major announcement.

There's no sugar coating it, this is a terrible way for such a talented player to have his career come to an end. I can only hope that Couture will get the chance to eventually make a full recovery from his injury and enjoy a high quality of life in whatever comes next for him after this chapter in his life.