Sharks' Logan Couture, Bruins' Jake DeBrusk enter COVID protocol

The San Jose Sharks and Boston Bruins each announced more COVID-related absences. The Sharks placed Logan Couture and Lane Pederson in the COVID protocol, recalling Adin Hill and Scott Reedy in the process. Alexei Melnichuk has been reassigned to the San Jose Barracuda.

Couture, the Sharks captain, was not one of the players who entered the protocol earlier this season, though he also was missing for one of the games the team played shorthanded due to a non-COVID illness. He’ll now be sidelined for the next little while, likely missing at least Tuesday evening’s game as well as two others in the coming days.

With Hill out, Couture and Pederson will join only Mario Ferraro in the protocol at this time. Head coach Bob Boughner confirmed to reporters including Curtis Pashelka of Mercury News that Couture is positive but has not yet experienced any symptoms. With the league’s new policy, that means he could potentially exit the protocol in five days, should he be able to provide a negative test.

The Bruins meanwhile placed Jake DeBrusk and three staff members in the protocol, where they will join Karson Kuhlman. DeBrusk has had quite the eventful season so far, with his trade request going public only for the Bruins to put him back in the lineup due to other absences. In the two games the team has played since the holiday break, DeBrusk has taken regular shifts in both, even playing more than 16 minutes on Sunday against the Detroit Red Wings.

Now, as he finds himself in isolation, he’ll be forced to miss at least Tuesday’s game and likely at least two others in the next few days.