San Jose Sharks
Logan Couture Was Punched for Supporting GOP, Mentioning Donald Trump
San Jose Sharks captain Logan Couture tweeted this morning that he was punched on Tuesday night in Toronto after publicly expressing support for the Republican Party and for mentioning Donald Trump.
I spent last night in Toronto Ontario. I talked about voting for the Republican Party, and I mentioned Donald Trump by name. I was sucker punched. Is this really what we are coming to? If you vote you are a villain? Man this world is so wrong
— Logan Couture (@Logancouture) August 26, 2020
Couture explained his position over a number of replies:
Saying my dad was a police officer and I “would” if I could vote republican.
— Logan Couture (@Logancouture) August 26, 2020
Craziest part is I don’t vote. I mentioned my father being a former police officer. I really don’t believe this is the world we live in
— Logan Couture (@Logancouture) August 26, 2020
Dude, I’m Canadian. I don’t have a vote in the election. I only talked about what the Republicans may bring in the election. That was it. Punched right in the face
— Logan Couture (@Logancouture) August 26, 2020
And I’ve learned that. I’ll never talk politics in public again. Just crazy to me, if you speak your own opinion violence happens. Even crazier, people are okay with it.
— Logan Couture (@Logancouture) August 26, 2020
Couture did not report any injuries in the aftermath of the assault.
Many on Twitter, however, were quick to point out the apparent incongruity between Couture’s support in May of teammate Evander Kane’s push to eradicate racism in hockey and other spaces with today’s support of a political party headed by a man who is still actively using racist terminology like “China virus.”
This you? pic.twitter.com/mMzvRAio8e
— Leah Kessel (@leahflame) August 26, 2020
Couture also responded to Tara Slone of Sportsnet for Liking this tweet:
Are you serious @TaraSlone ? I don’t vote, I never said I like Donald Trump. I don’t. Last time I do anything for @Sportsnet
— Logan Couture (@Logancouture) August 26, 2020
I’ve reached out to the San Jose Sharks for official comment. More on this story as it develops.
UPDATE:
Couture tweeted this after this story’s original publication:
Thank you for this. I am completely wrong for going public with my political views. I understand now. This world is at its tipping point. A wise man once said nothing at all, that’s how we should all go about our business. I love my fans, haters as well!
— Logan Couture (@Logancouture) August 26, 2020
However, Couture declined further comment at this time:
I reached out to Logan Couture to see if he wanted to comment further on his tweets this morning, and he politely declined.
— Kevin Kurz (@KKurzNHL) August 26, 2020
It appears that Couture has deleted his tweet to Slone. He’s also apologized to her:
Just got off the phone with @Logancouture, who apologized for today’s exchange. I accepted.
We’re good. 🤝-30-
— Tara Slone (@TaraSlone) August 26, 2020
Couture has also released this statement:
— Logan Couture (@Logancouture) August 26, 2020
He has also deleted his original tweet.
Shortly thereafter, the San Jose Sharks released their own statement: “The San Jose Sharks organization is aware of the incident that occurred on the evening of Aug. 25 in which Logan Couture was assaulted in Toronto. We are thankful that he was not seriously hurt and unequivocally denounce physical attacks or abuse on anyone under any circumstances.”
ADDENDUM:
The story isn’t about me, but I made a mistake with my original title, which stated, “Logan Couture Was Punched for Supporting Donald Trump, GOP”. Couture did clarify, as noted earlier in this story, that he doesn’t like Trump. While it can be inferred from his tweets this morning that he would vote for Trump even if he doesn’t like him — which is support — it’s not clearly stated, which is why I’ve revised the title of the story.
I had left the original tweet up as an admission of my mistake and because there was nuanced conversation going on in the replies, but since that tweet with the inaccurate title is still being shared, it’s probably best to just delete it. It is screen capped in the above link though. My apologies for the poor reporting in that title and thanks to those who pointed out my mistake.
The free agency gridlock is real — and according to an agent, there’s no end in the sight.
It’s not just the money being handed out, or lack thereof, it’s also the rush, or lack thereof, to sign guys.
To illustrate, 19 days into free agency, six of TSN’s final top-20 free agents are still on the board: Mike Hoffman, Erik Haula, Corey Perry, Mikael Granlund, Anthony Duclair, and Sami Vatanen.
Last summer, just two of TSN’s top-20 were available after 12 days of free agency: Ben Hutton and Jake Gardiner.
“The length of time until the season starts is probably affecting [this off-season’s free agents],” an agent told San Jose Hockey Now. “There’s not much rush right now since who knows when NHL camps even open?”
This is on top of revenue concerns that every organization is facing.
So the teams are in no rush to commit — and in some cases, the players aren’t either.
This particular agent agreed that players might see better offers once there’s more certainty with when the 2020-21 season will begin.
So while we know there are multiple teams in on the likes of Hoffman, Haula, and Conor Sheary, it might be a while yet before all these dominos fall.
No Conor Sheary Update
Speaking of Sheary, San Jose Hockey Now broke last week that the San Jose Sharks were talking to his camp.
At the moment, however, SJHN doesn’t have an additional Sheary update.
That’s no surprise. It is, after all, an unusually stagnant market.
Gambrell, Kellman on Thornton
A week and a half ago, when Joe Thornton left the San Jose Sharks for Toronto, San Jose Hockey Now reached out to a few Sharks to ask them about Jumbo’s departure.
Kevin Labanc was quick to reply; over the last week, a couple more Sharks have responded.
Dylan Gambrell texted: “Huge loss, big presence, and has been such a key piece for the Sharks for a very long time. Someone I looked up to very much and learned a ton from.
“I wish him nothing but the best and you can ask just about anyone how much he’ll be missed. With that said, it’s up to us as a team to step up and make up for that presence going forward and I know we have the guys in the locker room to do that.”
Gambrell, who the San Jose Sharks hope can step up to help fill Thornton’s void on the ice, has spent most of the last half-year in Denver. The 24-year-old forward plans to be in San Jose in about a week, to join the likes of Logan Couture, Tomas Hertl, and Labanc, who have been skating together.
Meanwhile, over 5,000 miles away, Joel Kellman won’t be back soon — he’s playing for Allsvenskan’s Kristianstads IK right now.
Kellman messaged SJHN about the San Jose Sharks legend: “I was so happy I got to play with him for a couple months! He was just a true professional, always working hard on and off the ice. That’s why he’s been good for so many years.”
Erik and JD look into the second of the San Jose Sharks’ two second-round draft picks, Tristen Robbins. We review his statistical profile and where he lands on some draft models. Then, we look at his tape to determine his strengths and weaknesses (8:00) as well as why his numbers exploded over the second half of the season. We finish by looking at his timeline for making the NHL (18:00). Check out the podcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
Keep up with all things San Jose Sharks here:
Agent on UFA Gridlock, Gambrell & Kellman on Jumbo’s Departure
Meeting Mr. Robins
Sheng’s Daily: Has Mitchell Miller “done the work to earn a second chance”?
Sharks Don’t Need Right-Handed Forwards
Who Will Be Sharks’ Next Alternate Captain?
What I’m Hearing About Dubnyk-Donato to San Jose…
BREAKING: Sharks Are Talking to Conor Sheary
What’s Doug Wilson Doing with Sharks Forwards?
Speculation: Does Patrik Laine to the Sharks Make Sense?
Joe Thornton Lost the Faith — Doug Wilson Hasn’t
Meeting Mr. Robins
Who Will Be Sharks’ Next Alternate Captain?
USNTDP coach Nick Fohr on Bordeleau’s Hockey IQ, Chmelevski’s Skating, Labanc’s Confidence
Who’s Best Option for Sharks’ Third-Line Center?
Get to Know Thomas Bordeleau
Thanks for clarifying the situation with the title change, Sheng. I don’t condone what happened to Logan at all. I don’t agree with his wanting to support the Republican Party at all, but violence is not the solution. Unfortunately, I think what we’re seeing are the effects of how easily triggered people can be… on both sides. It seems Logan wanted to express support for his father and by extension the police. And so he decides to support the GOP while knowingly (or not) supporting their numerous deleterious policies (e.g., promoting voter suppression, income inequality, white supremacy, etc. etc.). On… Read more »
Thanks for the salient points, James. I don’t want to read too much into things, there’s obviously a lot of details that we don’t know in this story, but I certainly don’t condone what happened to Logan.
especially nuance-like believing/expressing multiple opinions/views that aren’t necessarily incongruous with one another simply because they happen to fall somewhere on the political continuum between conservative and liberal. or that somehow that should be interpreted as meaning lack of support for a teammate.
Not “necessarily” incongruous, true, but it’s at least worth questioning. Now agree people (including myself) were quick to judgment, but all these statements still haven’t answered a few salient questions
I can’t help but get the feeling that Couture is looking for a trade. Publicly airing out divisiveness is not befitting of a captain, let alone one in the Bay Area. He’s far too old to claim ignorance.
I don’t think he’s looking for a trade. Honestly, and this is conjecture I admit, the opinions that he shared are probably more in line with most NHL hockey players — more important than being in the Bay Area is the fact that he’s in an NHL locker room. So he’s not really being divisive. It’s guys like Kane and Aliu who are more in the minority (no pun intended).
I have no doubt the views are shared by the majority of hockey players; we hear firsthand from POC players. I’m not talking about divisiveness in the locker room. I am talking about divisiveness on non-hockey issues that fans are passionate about (life-or-death for sadly too many). True, a winning team gets a pass on a lot of garbage, but this isn’t a winning team. Captain Sulk put a victim’s spotlight on himself instead. And all this is to ALLEGEDLY have happened. Crazy how something like this, in the middle of Hockey’s Mecca, slipped under the radar until he tweeted… Read more »
Oh, I got you. Yea, there could be some pushback from fans. But I don’t expect too much
crazy leftist cancel culture now rising to the level of physical violence/intimidation. advice to LC, pick a lane, standing in the middle of the road only gets you run over.
Now you’re generalizing, I think. Extremes are both sides are using physical violence/intimidation. That’s not just a “crazy leftist” thing and I’m not sure it’s a “rising” thing, it’s a there thing.
we’re back to McCarthyism, except from the left. it’s a crazy leftist thing NOW is what i meant. but yes, i agree it’s a morally bankrupt tactic no matter the source.