SAN JOSE — Logan Couture said the Sharks do not need to change coaches.

The overall culture of the organization, though, might need an overhaul.

“Not great,” Couture said when asked Wednesday to describe the team’s culture. “That’s my personal opinion, and that’s all I’m going to say about it.”

Couture didn’t pull any punches as he was asked to dissect all that went wrong this year for the Sharks, who finished eight points out of a playoff spot. For starters, he thought the agony and heartbreak the Sharks suffered at the end of their 2014 season would have made everybody more determined to come back even stronger this season.

Considering the Sharks are now watching the start of the playoffs, clearly that didn’t happen across the board in his eyes.

“You show up and it’s a brand new season and it should have got us more fired up,” Couture said Wednesday when the Sharks met at the team’s practice facility for the final time this season. “It should have made guys hungrier to come in and prove people wrong and have a better year, have your best year. It didn’t and it’s disappointing.”

The Sharks integrated several young players into the lineup throughout the year and finished with 22 fewer points than in 2013-14. He certainly wasn’t pinning San Jose’s woes on its least-experienced players, but said the challenge for the rookies is to build on what they learned this year, and for other players to figure out what they need to do better.

“Our young players did an admirable job. You’re a rookie in the NHL, it’s not an easy job,” Couture said. “When I was a rookie, I was surrounded by some really good players, so I had that success. It’s a tough league to play in, and these guys, for them the biggest thing is coming back next year and being better. You want to improve every year. Our younger players, maybe some of them had down years. It’s the way this game goes sometimes. Not every single young player comes in every year and gets better and better and has better years.

“It’s a very tough league, and you have to come in and prepare yourself properly coming into the season. It’s a grind to play 82 games and be at your best for most of them, and I think they learned that this year. Hopefully they can improve and be ready for next year.”

Wednesday, coach Todd McLellan said he and the organization need more time to decide whether he’ll come back for an eighth season behind the bench. But Couture said he remains solidly behind McLellan.

“I’ve never been the type of person to say a coach needs to change. I think that’s a cop out most of the time when you blame a coaching staff or a coach, instead of going out on the ice to play the game,” Couture said. “Maybe it’s the players that needs to, something needs to happen. Maybe that’s what needs to happen, I mean, because we’re the ones that go out there. We’re supposed to go out there and win hockey games, and like I said, a lot of guys didn’t have good years.

“A lot of guys were not consistent, and that’s why we didn’t win. We didn’t win because Todd and the coaching staff were terrible. We didn’t win because guys didn’t show up consistently and play well.”

Couture, in the first year of a five-year, $30 million contract, finished with a career-high 67 points in 82 games as he centered the second line for most of the season.

Couture said his season was “OK” and figures he still has plenty of room to improve.

“I wish I would have scored more goals. I thought it was a good, not great, season for me,” Couture said. “I still think I have a lot more to give and I can improve a lot more. So I’m going to work as hard as I can this summer, come back next year hungrier. Missing the playoffs isn’t fun, so I’m going to do everything I can to not miss the playoffs again.”