SAN JOSE >> Sharks captain Logan Couture did everything in his power to become a full-time NHL player again, spending countless hours rehabilitating his bothersome groin injury and visiting with several specialists on both the West and East Coasts to find a solution.

No matter what happened, his body wouldn’t cooperate.

“We tried everything we possibly could,” Couture said. “It just didn’t work.”

Couture, 36, officially ended his NHL playing career on Tuesday, unable to completely get past an often debilitating injury called osteitis pubis that robbed him of a chance to leave on his own terms the sport he’s loved all his life.

“My career of playing hockey has come to an end,” an emotional Couture said as he sat alongside Sharks general manager Mike Grier inside SAP Center. “I’m not physically able to play anymore. It’s tough. It (stinks). But it is what it is. I loved and cherished every single moment that I got to play in this league.”

The ceremony for Couture, attended by Sharks players past and present and other organization members, was mostly celebratory as the team honored the longtime centerman’s accomplishments and dedication to the franchise.

Video tributes from Doug Wilson, Todd McLellan and Pete DeBoer were shown, along with those from ex-teammates Brent Burns, Joe Pavelski, Tomas Hertl, Dan Boyle, and others.

“That’s special. Those people mean a lot to me,” said Couture, who thanked everyone who helped him throughout his hockey career.

Couture was drafted ninth overall by the Sharks in 2007, started his NHL career in 2009, and played in 933 games in the NHL, all with San Jose. He’ll go down as one of the Sharks’ most outstanding players — he’s fifth on the team’s all-time list in games played, fourth in points (701), third in goals (323), and fifth in assists (378).

Couture, though, usually saved his best for the postseason, scoring 101 points in 116 career playoff games, an average of .870 points per game.

With Couture, the Sharks made the Western Conference Final four times. In the Sharks’ run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2016, Couture led the NHL with 30 points in 24 playoff games.

Grier, now in his third season as the Sharks’ GM, told Couture he was the player he most looked forward to working with once he took over.

“When I was probably 10 or 11, my dad told me the best players play the best in the biggest games,” Grier said, “and that was you.”

Couture said his two favorite memories as a player were in 2016, when he scored an empty-net goal in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final against the St. Louis Blues, sealing the Sharks’ first trip to the Stanley Cup Final.

The other came in Game 7 of the Sharks’ first-round playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights in 2019, when he scored twice in the third period to lead an epic comeback after San Jose fell behind by three goals. The Sharks won the game 5-4 in overtime on a goal by Barclay Goodrow.

“If you’ve ever been to a nightclub and sat beside a speaker for a couple of hours, and then you leave that nightclub and you’re on the street and your ears are ringing, and you just can’t hear what anyone’s saying,” Couture said of that night, “that’s what it was like between the third period and overtime.”

Still, the event was also somewhat somber, considering Couture was still an impactful player until his final full season in 2022-23, when he had 67 points in 82 games for the Sharks. The injury began to hamper Couture in the summer of 2023, and he could not skate in training camp that fall.

After at least two setbacks, Couture returned to play six games for the Sharks in late January 2024. His final game was against the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center on Jan. 31, 2024.

Couture knew that might be it, considering how much pain he was in that night.

“I took a second at the end of that game to look around, just in case, you know?” Couture said. “So I guess it’s been on my mind that there was a chance that could have been it, since that game.

“But this summer, I focused on training and rehab and working as hard as I possibly could, but I just could never get close to putting a couple of good days together. I would get two good days and then be sore and have to stop for a few days. I never got close to getting back onto the ice since that last game in January of last year.”

“That’s what makes today difficult,” Grier said. “Father Time gets everyone, but it’s another thing if your body tells you you can’t do it anymore.

“For someone like (Couture), who was still performing at a high, high level, to have to step away because your body won’t let you play, I think is a very difficult thing for an athlete.”

Couture, who is not officially retiring, is in the sixth year of an eight-year, $64 million contract he signed with the Sharks in July 2018. He is still owed $13 million in salary over the next two seasons.

By not retiring, Couture’s $8 million salary cap hit will remain on the Sharks’ books in each of the next two years. The Sharks will likely list Couture as being on injured reserve or long-term injured reserve for the next two seasons.

Grier said Couture will have a job with the Sharks when the time is right. For now, Couture is happy to spend more time with his wife, Brielle, and their two young children, Kaden and Kaia.

“It was a grind,” Couture said of the rehab process. “There are tough days, there are better days. But all of the support the Sharks have here, there are people to talk to, so that helped big time. But I’m in a good spot right now. I’ve come to peace with it over the last little while.”