The Minnesota Wild has completely turned its season around. After the worst October start in Franchise History to the best month of November, eyes are on the Wild to acquire players rather than selling.

Minnesota started the year 3-6-3 in October and went 11-1-2 in November. The spark has turned heads and got the wheels turning on potential trades.

So what guy or guys could the Wild be targeting?

Kiefer Sherwood is not a flashy player and certainly isn't the top available player on the trade market. But his name has been linked to the Wild recently.

Elliotte Friedman has talked about Sherwood as a guy the Wild are interested in. TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun also talked about Sherwood and how he has generated some buzz and how the Wild have been linked to him.

He is an interesting player. He is not the classic solve everything top-six player but he is a very physical, north-south winger which would fit in well with the Wild's middle-six.

Sherwood, 30, would not be a top-six guy for the Wild. He is a winger that would be behind Matt Boldy, Kirill Kaprizov, Mats Zuccarello and Marcus Johansson.

But adding him to the bottom six with guys like Marcus Foligno, Nico Sturm and Yakov Trenin would sound pretty good.

The undrafted forward was with the Nashville Predators from 2022 to 2024 and played under current Wild head coach John Hynes when he was the coach of the Predators.

Sherwood actually played on a line with Trenin and Minnesota Native Cole Smith. It was one of the most power forward and bone crunching lines in the NHL. Sherwood scored ten goals in his final year in Nashville.

He is known for setting the NHL record in hits though. Last season with the Vancouver Canucks, Sherwood recorded 462 hits which was 79 more hits than the previous record. He also recorded 19 goals and 40 points in 78 games.

This year he has followed that up with 12 goals and 106 hits in 27 games. He leads the Canucks in goals and is second in the NHL in hits behind Trenin.

According to Sportlogic, in November 53.6% of his shots came from the slot. This is up from 37.8% in October, with seven of his first nine goals coming from the inner slot. Yet he only scored three goals in November and had nine in October.

He is one of the better forecheckers in the league and Hynes would know that more than anyone when he was in Nashville. A true in your face kind of guy when it comes to rush and the forecheck.

According to NHLEdge, Sherwood's max skating speed is in the 80th percentile league-wide. He has also scored double digit goals off the rush in the last two seasons and is decent threat because of his speed.

This all screams a Bill Guerin or Wild type of player. Sherwood is fast, heavy, lives in the slot, extends O-zone time, and helps you win pucks back before you ever have to defend your blue line.

That being said, there are some red flags that you can't ignore, especially considering the rumored asking price for him. 

From an expected goals standpoint, his 5-on-5 expected-goals share is just 45.7% since the start of last season, which ranks 23rd of 28 Canucks forwards over that span. Per Natural Stat Trick.

You also are massively buying into a late bloomer. Sherwood’s current run in Vancouver (19 goals and 40 points last year, 12 goals already this year) is ahead of his earlier NHL numbers. He had ten goals and 27 points in 68 games for Nashville in 2023-24, which were all career highs at the time.

So Do The Wild Do It?

Sherwood seems like a Minnesota Wild player. He plays hard and is fast. He is not afraid to drop the gloves or blast someone through the boards. He is an energy player and feeds off that. He is the right player to trade for when you need an energy or identity boost.

The Wild have found their identity recently and are one of the hottest teams in the league. They currently sit third in the NHL in points but are third in the Central Division.

The gritty forward makes only $1,500,000 for this season and is an expiring unrestricted free agent. I am sure he will ask for a hefty upgrade in pay and some reports have him around the $5 million range for an extension.

Also, what will it cost. Reports say the Canucks are going to go hard in terms of an asking price for him and they should certainly try. But I am not sure he is really worth a first-round pick or a higher-end prospect like some are saying.

But as a cost-controlled, for this season, and a heavy forecheck winger for the middle six at the right acquisition cost, he looks like a very clean stylistic fit for what Minnesota wants to be.

If the price drops into the “middle-asset” range, he’s a strong trade target. If it doesn’t, Minnesota should let someone else pay for the hits.

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