Kiefer Sherwood's scoring surge is forcing the Vancouver Canucks to act on his pending UFA status. However, the longer the Canucks wait, the more expensive their decision will have to be.
The Vancouver Canucks have an unexpected hero in Kiefer Sherwood, which is good news. The not-so-good news is that they may be in a situation where they’ll need to pay handsomely to keep being saved by the undrafted right winger who is finding his scoring touch in the NHL.
The 30-year-old entered the season with no one really paying attention to what he might produce. With 43 goals in 265 NHL games, Sherwood was playing the role of a forechecking depth piece, there to do his job and be tough to play against.
He has already piled up nine goals, briefly tying for the league lead before Nathan MacKinnon and Cole Caufield pushed their tallies to 10. Nonetheless, his production has been critical for the Canucks, particularly given the string of injuries that have hit the team.
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Even with the inevitable regression coming - converting on a likely unsustainable 37.5 percent of his shots - Sherwood’s production and energy have been impossible to ignore.
He’s quickly become one of the Canucks’ most valuable players in 2025-26. He has speed, skill, and can hit hard. He’s the kind of player teams don’t enjoy playing against, but exactly what most teams in the NHL need.
If he can keep up anything close to the pace he’s on, he becomes somewhat of a unicorn and as a pending UFA, he’ll certainly draw attention if he makes it to market.
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What’s happening with Sherwood raises an intriguing question for the Canucks - what is he worth?
Talks with management have flown under the radar, but the assumption is that they are beginning. After changing agents this summer, Sherwood is expected to command a much bigger payday. Canucks' analyst Rick Dhaliwal suggested he could earn up to $4 million per season on a multi-year deal, on the Donnie and Dhali show.
That’s a significant bump from his $1.5-million cap hit, particularly for a player who, before this year, had never reached the 20-goal mark.
The Canucks love his compete level, and he’s got a fan in superstar defenseman Quinn Hughes. With the organization uncertain about which way Hughes might lean when his contract comes due, it might be important to consider that Hughes has reportedly been one of Sherwood’s biggest advocates, which was also discussed on the Donnie and Dhali show.
Some around the team even speculate that Sherwood’s presence could play a small role in keeping Hughes happy in Vancouver long term. What that’s worth in negotiations remains uncertain, but it’s not nothing.
For now, the Canucks appear to be taking a wait-and-see approach. On Inside Sports, David Pagnotta reported that the organization wants to make sure he’s worth the kind of money his recent production will command. If it does, each goal Sherwood scores makes that decision to wait more expensive.
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