Couture proved himself as a pure goal-scorer with a natural touch around the net who can play center or wing and is sound defensively.

Selected by the San Jose Sharks with the No. 9 pick in the 2007 NHL Draft, Couture was a four-time 20-goal scorer for Ottawa of the Ontario Hockey League and played for Canada in the World Under-18 Championship.

After turning pro, Couture had 20 goals in 42 American Hockey League games with Worcester in 2009-10. He earned his first callup to the Sharks early that season and made his NHL debut against the Philadelphia Flyers on Oct. 25, 2009. He scored his first NHL goal against the Detroit Red Wings on Nov. 5, 2009.

Couture had five goals and nine points in 25 NHL games and scored four goals in 15 Stanley Cup Playoff games in 2009-10. He became the third Sharks player, after Sandis Ozolinsh and Marco Sturm, to score his first two postseason goals in the same game, which came in Game 5 of the first-round series against the Colorado Avalanche.

Still eligible as a rookie in 2010-11, Couture was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team after scoring 32 goals and finished second to Jeff Skinner of the Carolina Hurricanes in Calder Trophy balloting. In 2011-12, Couture was selected to play his first NHL All-Star Game and named Sharks Player of the Year after tying for the team lead with 31 goals. He also had an eight-game point streak from Jan. 21-Feb. 10, 2012.

Couture again led the Sharks in goals with 21 in 2012-13 and finished second among NHL forwards with 51 blocked shots. He was second on the team with 37 points and tied for first with a plus-seven rating.

In 2013-14, Couture was among the leaders in blocked shots by NHL forwards with 68, and in 2014-15 he had 27 goals, marking his fifth straight 20-goal season. He led the 2016 playoffs with 30 points (10 goals, 20 assists) in 24 games to help the Sharks the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in their history, a six-game loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. He had his first playoff hat trick on April 30, 2019, scoring three goals in a 4-2 win against the Colorado Avalanche in Game 3 of the Western Conference Second Round.

In 2017-18, Couture scored an NHL career-high 34 goals, his third 30-goal season, was named Sharks Player of the Year and signed an eight-year contract with San Jose on July 1, 2018, before he had an NHL career-best 70 points (27 goals, 43 assists). The Sharks named him captain Sept. 12, 2019.

Couture scored twice, including his 300th NHL goal, in a 4-3 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs at SAP Center on Oct. 27, 2022, becoming the third Sharks player to reach the milestone (Patrick Marleau, 522; Joe Pavelski, 355). After injuries sidelined Couture for all but six games over the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons, he announced April 15, 2025, that he was stepping away from professional hockey because of symptoms related to Osteitis Pubis.

Between Couture's first season in 2009-10 and the 2018-19 season, the Sharks won 441 regular-season games and 60 playoff games, each fourth-most in the NHL during that span.