Kiefer Sherwood was already moved once this season, and he had surfaced again in trade speculation before Friday's deadline. The Sharks made it clear as they put the finishing touches on their rebuild: he's going nowhere.
The San Jose Sharks are chasing a playoff spot, but they're keeping their eyes on the long term.
While that led to speculation that Kiefer Sherwood could be a trade candidate with his second team this season, the Sharks quickly put that talk to rest on Wednesday by re-signing the right winger to a five-year contract worth $5.75 million annually.
The Sharks traded second-round picks in 2026 and 2027, along with prospect Cole Clayton, to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Sherwood on Jan. 19. He's only played five games for San Jose since then due to an injury and the Olympics, recording a goal and an assist, but the Sharks sold the pending UFA on staying around a while longer.
"We are very excited to have Kiefer remain in San Jose and be part of the group that we are building," Sharks GM Mike Grier said in the announcement. "The ingredients he brings to our lineup on a nightly basis blend extremely well with the skill sets of his teammates, and we look forward to his contributions in the years to come."
Why Are Sherwood's Ingredients So Valuable To The Sharks?
The Sharks have dynamic forwards, such as Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith and William Eklund. They also have valuable veterans who can provide secondary scoring, such as Alexander Wennberg, Tyler Toffoli and Adam Gaudette.
They've also infused more prospects into the lineup, such as right winger Collin Graf (34 points in 58 games), 2025 second overall pick Michael Misa (13 points in 22 games) and defenseman Sam Dickinson (10 points in 49 games).
San Jose also has depth forwards who bring a lot of physicality, such as Ryan Reaves (151 hits), Ty Dellandrea (117) and Barclay Goodrow (91). But none of them have more than 11 points.
That's where Sherwood has blended well into the Sharks' lineup.
First of all, he has the second-most hits in the NHL this season, with 238, in just 49 games. And last season, his 462 hits smashed the NHL's single-season record for most hits since tracking began in 2005-06.
That same player led the Canucks with 17 goals this season by the time of the trade. He's now up to 18 goals and 25 points in 49 games.
He likely won't lead the Sharks in goal-scoring, nor should he, with youngsters Celebrini, Smith and Eklund carrying the torch out of the rebuild. But that combination of secondary scoring and high-level physicality is valuable for a squad that's only average in hits and goal-scoring.
So it made little sense to trade him again unless he had made it clear he would not re-sign.
Sherwood's new contract carries a no-trade clause in its first season and a 16-team no-trade list in 2027-28, which drops to 13 teams in 2028-29, 10 in 2029-30 and five in 2030-31, according to PuckPedia.
San Jose Takes Care Of Business During A Playoff Push
The Sharks gave Sherwood stability as they try to stabilize their future as well. The past few seasons have included bringing in a handful of veterans and becoming sellers at the trade deadline.
San Jose could still decide to sell some pending UFAs and add assets to fill the final roster gaps for the long term. Defensemen John Klingberg, Mario Ferraro, Timothy Liljegren and Vincent Desharnais are on expiring contracts, and each of them brings different qualities that a contending team would like.
That said, the team is only three points out of a wild-card spot, and it has a game in hand on the Seattle Kraken, which hold that place.
The Sharks are also only four points behind the Edmonton Oilers for third place in the Pacific Division, with three games in hand on them.
What Grier chooses to do over the next 48 hours will be very intriguing as a result. Getting the fifth-youngest team in the NHL some playoff experience could be huge toward cementing a competitive, winner's mindset after sitting near the bottom of the league for the last six seasons.
The Sharks' ingredients for success appear to be coming together. They're starting to execute that recipe.
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