If only the Vancouver Canucks weren’t a trainwreck.

Kiefer Sherwood was easily a fan favourite during his time with the Canucks.

Heck, he still leads the team in goals, even though he was traded away in January.

The 30-year-old winger was a true story of perseverance, turning into one of the Canucks’ best players even though he was playing on a meagre two-year contract worth $1.5 million per season.

Well, Sherwood’s life changed on Wednesday.

The Athletic’s Chris Johnston first reported that the San Jose Sharks have signed Sherwood to a five-year contract worth $5.75 million per season.

The total value of the contract is worth $28.75 million.

Before signing the deal, his estimated NHL earnings were $7.87 million. However, his actual earnings were certainly less than that, considering he would have made less for playing in the AHL.

The Canucks traded Sherwood away to the Sharks on Jan. 19 in exchange for two second-round picks and career AHLer Cole Clayton.

And apparently, all it took was one goal for the Sharks to give Sherwood the bag.

Prior to Tuesday night’s game against the Montreal Canadiens, Sherwood had gone pointless during his first four games in San Jose.

That changed on Tuesday, as Sherwood picked up a goal and an assist, including a late third-period game-winner.

KIEFER SHERWOOD!! 🦈

His first as a @SanJoseSharks couldn’t have come at a better time! pic.twitter.com/l2QMeTs8pV

— NHL (@NHL) March 4, 2026

Before departing Vancouver, Sherwood was expected to command around $5 million per season on his next contract.

There were some reports last week that the Sharks may look to flip Sherwood at the deadline if they weren’t able to come to terms on a new contract. The Sharks’ general manager put those rumours to rest on Wednesday.

For Canucks fans, while losing Sherwood hurts, the Sharks’ recent tailspin has given Vancouver a chance to have four draft picks within the top-40 of the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.

We wrote about that on Saturday. So, naturally, since then, the Sharks have won three straight games to move three spots up the NHL standings.

Right now, the Sharks’ second-rounder in 2026 would be the 43rd overall pick. At the time of the trade, the pick was 47th overall.

San Jose now trails the Seattle Kraken by three points for the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference, with one game in hand.