Kiefer Sherwood had a good idea that he was staying with the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
He then went out and had his best game in teal, scoring the game-winner and adding a highlight-reel assist in a dramatic 7-5 victory over the Montreal Canadiens.<\/p>\n
Sherwood held court in an upbeat and hilarious conversation on Wednesday afternoon, after the San Jose Sharks announced that the pending UFA was coming back on a five-year, $28.75 million contract.<\/p>\n
The 30-year-old winger was genuinely grateful to have finally found an NHL home, after bouncing around the Anaheim Ducks, Colorado Avalanche, Nashville Predators, and Vancouver Canucks organizations on much smaller and shorter contracts.<\/p>\n
He credited some of the people in other organizations who kept him going, in his 20\u2019s, when his NHL career was in the balance.<\/p>\n
Here are some of the highlights from the half-hour (!) media availability\u2026needless to say, Sherwood was in a fantastic mood!<\/p>\n
Kiefer Sherwood, on what it means to be rewarded with an extension:<\/p>\n
It feels like it\u2019s still in a whirlwind and a long time coming, but I\u2019m just super grateful to be here. To be able to be part of someone\u2019s future is pretty special and obviously new to me. I kind of bounced around looking to find a home, and I\u2019m just super grateful and super excited.<\/p>\n
I know we\u2019re building towards something special here, and just to be part of that in the future and help everyone along the way is pretty cool. Still trying to process it all.<\/p>\n
We had a game last night, and obviously it\u2019s been kind of a roller coaster, but we had a great result there at the end. It\u2019s been kind of a lot, but I\u2019ve just been super, super grateful and I\u2019m just excited to get it going and continue to work with the fellas here.<\/p>\n
Sherwood, on if he looked at a crystal ball three years ago and told himself he\u2019d be signing a 5-year, $28.75 million contract, what he would tell himself:<\/p>\n
I think I\u2019d be in a little bit of disbelief, maybe? A little bit of shock?<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve always believed that things would work out [if I] continue to play the right way and do all the little things and try to be a pro on the team and continue to learn and grow my game. I think you just have to double down on your belief in yourself.<\/p>\n
At times, it can be hard, obviously, with adversity in the way and hardships along the way, but I wouldn\u2019t change it for the world. It\u2019s kind of shaped me into who I am. I\u2019ve been really fortunate, too. I\u2019ve worked with a lot of good people and coaches. It\u2019s like the saying \u201cIt takes a village to raise a kid,\u201d and it\u2019s so true. I\u2019ve been really grateful to be in this position.<\/p>\n
So many people that I run into have helped me and allowed me to continue growing and transform a little bit. I\u2019m grateful for all of their help along the way. I think I did the math here, I\u2019ve been an 8 years pro in hockey\u2014and I haven\u2019t been in the NHL the whole time\u2014but just in the NHL, I\u2019ve had 9 coaches now, so all of those coaches along the way, I try to take a little bit from each one.<\/p>\n
Now, I\u2019m really excited to learn from Warso\u2014his fire and his passion is contagious, and it resonates with the group. He\u2019s just such a great leader, so I\u2019m excited to be here and continue to get this thing going and continue rolling.<\/p>\n
Sherwood, on when everything came together with the San Jose Sharks on an extension:<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve just been fully trusting [my agent] in this process. He\u2019s been such a huge part, obviously, in just supporting me, trusting me, and walking me through it.<\/p>\n
I think things got finalized yesterday at some point, probably. I\u2019ve been trying to wait and be patient for updates from him and just let him do his thing. For us, we\u2019re eager to get something done, but having that peace of mind and being able to move forward and be here is something that we really wanted. It\u2019s hard to see and value a place when you\u2019re not there.<\/p>\n
Then when the trade happened, we didn\u2019t know exactly where everything would go, so it was a little uneasy at times, but we got here and are just super in love with being here so far, and I\u2019m just really excited to continue to grow this future together with this group here.<\/p>\n
Sherwood, on who believed most in him in his struggles, to drive him to this level of success:<\/p>\n
There\u2019s so many, there\u2019s too many. A lot of people in this industry give up so much of their time and effort, so I can\u2019t even remember all of them.<\/p>\n
[Dan Hinote] was a big part in Nashville in helping me understand \u201cadapt or die,\u201d basically. I was just trying to find a way to stick and transform my game a little bit.<\/p>\n
I know when I was in Colorado, I thought I was ready to be part of their [NHL] team, and whatever happened, happened. [Greg Cronin] in the A really helped me mature and grow my game mentally.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s kind of hard to touch on everyone, but I\u2019m just so grateful to have worked with so many people along my way here. I think it\u2019s kind of everyone\u2019s win, I guess if you say, because there\u2019s been so many people who have impacted me along this journey.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve had great teammates along the way too who I try to understand and pick their brains.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s probably too many to say\u2014things kind of took off in Vancouver, but I\u2019m super grateful for them allowing me to do my thing and take the next step there.<\/p>\n
I never really told anyone this, and I don\u2019t know if he\u2019d want me sharing, but [Rick Tocchet] pulled me aside last year\u2014in New Jersey, I think\u2014when I was kind of going through some ups and downs, and he gave me that belief. He said something along the lines of \u201cDon\u2019t settle for good. You can be a good player, you can be a $5 million player.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a player, you don\u2019t really try to focus on that, because sometimes I think it can be a distraction to focus on that stuff outside of playing, but obviously it\u2019s related. To have a coach even saying words like that, I\u2019d never had a coach instill that kind of belief in me\u2014[Tocc] is such a wonderful guy who, obviously, was a hell of a player. He kind of instilled that it was even a possibility\u2014I\u2019d never had a coach do that.<\/p>\n
I was always trying to scratch and claw just to make it, but to have a coach instill a little belief and throw it out there like that, the idea that I shouldn\u2019t just settle and keep pushing myself. I always remember taking that away.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s things along the journey that kind of resonate and fuel me even more now, like those kinds of conversations really go a long way. I think as the game progresses, as you have coaches that care enough to build a relationship, the players benefit from that. Just super grateful for that. Those are the guys who come to mind, but truthfully, there\u2019s been so many. There\u2019s too many to go through right now, but like I said, I\u2019m just really grateful for everyone who\u2019s helped me along the way and added tools in my toolbox, per se, to help me grow my game.<\/p>\n
Sherwood, on what made him fall in love with San Jose so quickly:<\/p>\n
Everything. First, the hockey and the team. I wanted to, obviously, bring and add to the identity. From the hockey front, from the coaching and the player and the group, everything. The identity that we\u2019re trying to build.<\/p>\n
Even the San Jose area is starting to be appreciated more as time goes on. My wife, Ariel, and I got married this summer up in Carmel, and it was her first time being in California. It\u2019s kind of so random and things came full circle months later and now we\u2019re expecting. I think it\u2019s just the balance of the lifestyle.<\/p>\n
Outside the rink too, San Jose has so many great areas for us to raise a family and take the next step towards fatherhood because that\u2019s coming quickly. Even the hockey side of things and seeing how things are trending, I think being competitive is something that is really important to us, and we want to continue to grow. This is about continuing to grow something special here and build towards winning, ultimately.<\/p>\n
You only get so many cracks at it in your career, and to be part of a group that\u2019s going to be competitive and push for things here hopefully sooner rather than later, that\u2019s the most exciting part. As the competitor, you want the chance to get a chance. That\u2019s why you do it and why you play and continue to grow and elevate. I\u2019m super excited to be part of a group that is pushing already, and we\u2019re going to continue to push this thing forward and see how far we can take it. There\u2019s obviously special things growing in the future.<\/p>\n
Sherwood, on how he plans to celebrate tonight:<\/p>\n
Good question. I think me and my wife are just going to have a little date night, maybe a little dinner, just to process things and let things kind of get a little quiet. We haven\u2019t even had time to get the move situated. We\u2019re trying to build things for the baby and get things undone and stuff. We\u2019re probably going to have a quiet night and get some sleep\u2014we\u2019re still trying to figure out where dinner is going to be.<\/p>\n