Hello and goodbye, Kiefer Sherwood?
“The Sharks are open to the possibility of flipping Sherwood if they can’t get him signed,” Pierre LeBrun wrote in The Athletic on Friday. “It’s more likely than not he’s moved if the Sharks can’t extend him over the next week.”
The San Jose Sharks, on Jan. 19, acquired pending UFA Sherwood from the Vancouver Canucks for a pair of second-round picks. This was a surprise at the time, the first time that the Sharks had added an impact player for the playoff push before the Trade Deadline since 2019.
Sherwood, however, had an upper-body injury at the time of the deal, and didn’t get healthy until right before the early February Olympic break.
Consequently, Sherwood has only played two games with the San Jose Sharks, coinciding with a downturn in the team’s fortunes, too.
San Jose has lost their five-straight, falling five points behind the last wild card spot in the West.
So it’s decision time for the San Jose Sharks with 30-year-old winger Sherwood: The price is, reportedly, about $30 million for an extension. LeBrun suggested that the Sharks had some sticker shock with that price tag. Also, Sherwood, at $1.5 million AAV right now, and his playoff-style of hockey, would be very in-demand on the market.
LeBrun did note that Sherwood wants to sign with San Jose.
It’s conceivable, however, for GM Mike Grier to get his seconds back, or maybe even a late first-rounder.
It’s shaping up to be a pivotal week for the San Jose Sharks organization: They’ve got a back-to-back this weekend, two of their three games before the Mar. 6 Trade Deadline, which could cement them as buyers or sellers at the Deadline.
And now, there appears to be a clock on Sherwood’s time in teal, too.