Latest on Couture, Emberson, Carpenter, Kunin & Benning’s Injuries

DETROIT – “Well, that’s the way it goes. One in, one out.”

That’s Rick Blaine’s line from “Casablanca”, when bemoaning, over a glass of bourbon, the end of one life crisis, and the sudden beginning of another.

That could well be San Jose Sharks head coach David Quinn, over a can of Bud Light, on the back-and-forth between the team’s roster and injured reserve.

In just the past couple weeks, Alexander Barabanov, Filip Zadina, Matt Benning, and Jan Rutta have come off IR. In the same time, Rutta, Luke Kunin, Ty Emberson, and Ryan Carpenter have gone on IR.

Here’s the latest on Logan Couture, Emberson, Carpenter, Kunin, and Benning’s injuries.

Logan Couture

The star centerman has missed the entire season with a lower-body injury. He’s been on-and-off with skating and had been on a multi-week break.

Couture has hit the ice again, according to Quinn. But…

“When I say skating, I’m talking 15 minutes,” he said. “Just getting going again.”

There’s still no timeline for the San Jose Sharks captain’s return.

Ty Emberson

Emberson was about to take on the New York Rangers on Sunday, the team that waived him before the year. But then, he suffered a lower-body injury in the morning skate at Madison Square Garden.

Before that, the 23-year-old defenseman was on an upward trajectory, and Quinn credited him with helping to steady partner Mario Ferraro’s game.

“I just think his confidence is the biggest thing. You get in the league and you’re wondering, can I play in this league? I think every player goes through that,” Quinn said of Emberson at the beginning of the season, as opposed to recently. “Through his ups and downs, he’s realized if I do A, B, and C, I can be a good player in this league.”

So it’s a shame that Quinn expects Emberson out for a little bit longer, 2-to-4 weeks.

Ryan Carpenter

Carpenter was a surprise addition to the IR after playing the entire game against the Rangers on Sunday.

Quinn says he too was surprised by Carpenter showing up on IR.

Carpenter played the entirety of the Rangers' game.

It's another mid-body injury, suffered late in the game

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) December 5, 2023

Quinn termed his fourth-line center a not so firm day-to-day. Carpenter has been skating.

Luke Kunin

Kunin took a shot off his left hand on Nov. 30 at Boston.

“That’s pain tolerance,” Quinn said of the finger injury.

So assume the center-winger is in quite a bit of pain if he isn’t playing. He has been skating, at least.

Quinn considers Kunin day-to-day or week-to-week.

Matt Benning

After missing almost a month with a lower-body injury, Benning was activated off IR on Nov. 24. Six games later, the stalwart defenseman has another lower-body injury.

Benning missed yesterday’s game against the New York Islanders, and Quinn still had no timeline for his return, which doesn’t sound promising. We’ll see.

“Still doing some timeline, examining, we’re not sure yet,” the San Jose Sharks bench boss said.