The San Jose Sharks injected physicality and scoring into their rebuild by acquiring Kiefer Sherwood. Will the pending UFA be a long-term piece of the puzzle?
For the past six seasons, the San Jose Sharks have been mired in misery, with no playoff games to show for it.
This season could be a different story.
The Sharks, which entered Monday's action in a wild-card spot, acquired Kiefer Sherwood from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for two second-round draft picks and 25-year-old AHL defenseman Cole Clayton.
Sharks GM Mike Grier has been very straightforward in the full rebuild he's presided over. After years of pain, they took a measured approach to adding veterans over the off-season, and they've now added Sherwood, who has potential as a long-term fit with the core group.
And if the team starts to slip in the standings while not having a contract extension in sight for Sherwood, Grier still has until the NHL's March 6 trade deadline to flip Sherwood to another team and recoup assets.
Adding the pending UFA is somewhat of a risk, especially considering the second-round picks they sent away and the fact he might not play until after the Olympic break due to injury. There would only be a week and a half until the deadline for him to play in San Jose if that's the case.
But there's a potential upside with this acquisition that makes the price well worth what Grier has paid for the player.
Sherwood was attractive to many teams because of his play-finishing, with 17 goals in 44 games, and his physicality. He ranks second in the NHL in hits, with 164. He will undoubtedly be an effective attacker in San Jose's top six.
Sherwood deserves a major raise on his $1.5-million cap hit. But San Jose has a whopping $53.7 million in salary cap space next season, so finding money for him won't be an issue whatsoever. And in the bigger picture, if Grier determines Sherwood is asking for too much, or if the right winger doesn't seem interested in an extension by March, they can easily let him go after the season or trade him again.
He isn't the type of player who puts a team on his back and carries it to new heights. But his robust physical game, in combination with his scoring skills, makes him such an important secondary scorer, and there will be no shortage of suitors if things don't work out for him in San Jose.
That said, this Sharks team is on the rise, and the chances of retaining veteran talent and putting them in close quarters to a bona fide superstar in Macklin Celebrini could prove to be very attractive to a player like Sherwood.
Grier paid a relatively steep price for what ultimately could be just a rental asset. But the Sharks' successes thus far this season have made an impact on San Jose's timeline to take that next competitive step.
And now, Sherwood gets to audition for San Jose, and vice versa. There's no fixed solution for Sherwood just yet. But the Sharks' gains this year have accelerated their rebuild, and Sherwood could wind up being a long-term fit.
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