Kiefer Sherwood has been traded to the San Jose Sharks for a second-round pick in 2026, a second-round pick in 2027, and 25-year old defenceman Cole Clayton.
Sherwood’s name has been in the rumour mill all season long, largely due to the fact that he is a pending unrestricted free agent, but on top of that the 30-year old forward has a cap hit of just $1.5 million for this season.
Per Rick Dhaliwal, the Canucks reportedly made a “respectable” offer to Sherwood two weeks ago in the $4 million dollar range per season at a medium contract length, but evidently no extension was worked out between Sherwood and the Canucks.
Sherwood is having a career year, and over 82 games is on pace for 31 goals, 43 points, 392 hits and 203 shots, all of which would be career highs outside of hits. Sherwood’s physical play is certainly the trademark of his game, as the 462 hits he totalled in 78 games last year are the most all time in a season, well ahead of the second most all time in a season at 383.
With over 300 NHL games now under his belt, Sherwood should be able to provide the young Sharks with leadership, physical play and some goal scoring. It will be interesting to see if Sherwood is put into a prominent role in San Jose’s lineup, given the young make-up of their roster.
His physical play and goal scoring could be an extremely valuable asset alongside someone with the playmaking skills like Macklin Celebrini, and he has shown that he can handle more minutes, as he is averaging 17:32 minutes of ice time per game this season, a career high and up from the 14:53 he averaged last season.
Did the Canucks get enough in return?
With Sherwood’s name floating in trade rumours for so long due to his impending free agency and the direction of the team, the Canucks had the benefit of not only taking their time through this process, but also engaging with many teams over the highly prized forward.
This gave the Canucks a great opportunity to get a solid return, and it appears as though they have. In all likelihood, Canucks General Manager Patrik Allvin began this process looking to attain a first-round pick for Sherwood.
But even if he was able to get that first-round pick, it would have likely been at least the 20th overall pick in the draft, and with the Sharks barely in the playoffs and no guarantee to be playing playoff hockey, it is possible that the pick the Canucks received may not be that much later in the draft, on top of having San Jose’s second-round pick next year.
Ultimately, the Canucks turned what was an unsung signing into two second-round picks and a depth defenceman, and that is a big win for a team who has let virtually all of it’s stars go over the past few seasons.
Conclusion:
As it stands now, Sherwood is on IL and hoping to play again before the Olympics in February. He is said to be managing a nagging “undisclosed injury,” but the hope is that it is not serious and that he is back on the ice soon.
The high price paid by the Sharks indicates the improvement in Sherwood’s play, what his trade market was, and that they view him as a potential fit for their lineup beyond this season, and it is better late than never to see Sherwood realize his abilities at the NHL level.