Kiefer Sherwood has only played one game for the San Jose Sharks after being acquired from the Vancouver Canucks just over a month ago — but it already could be one of his last.
The Sharks gave up two second-round picks to acquire the power forward, who has managed 23 points in 46 games in 2025-26. But as The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun reported on Friday, player and club have their “wires crossed” in terms of a contract extension for the pending unrestricted free agent.
“When the San Jose Sharks acquired Kiefer Sherwood on Jan. 19, it was largely assumed a contract extension would get done before too long. Otherwise, why would an on-the-rise bubble team trade for a pending UFA?” LeBrun wrote in his latest NHL trade column.
“Whatever the case, I get the sense that the first contract-extension conversation was a real wires-crossed moment as far as expectations from both sides.”
If the Sharks and Sherwood can't agree to a contract extension sometime in the next week, it might make sense for the front office to flip him rather than potentially watch him walk for nothing on July 1.
It's a tough position to be in, especially as San Jose is right on the playoff bubble at 27-25-4. That has the club sixth place in the Pacific Division and five points back of the final wildcard berth in the Western Conference.
Sharks are open to cutting losses and trading Kiefer Sherwood, says LeBrun
Although it's not ideal to trade away valuable draft capital to acquire a player that doesn't last two months in the city, Sharks general manager Mike Grier is not against flipping the 30-year-old, LeBrun reported.
“A league source told me this week that the Sharks are open to the possibility of flipping Sherwood if they can’t get him signed,” he explained. “Given his low cap hit ($1.5 million), there should be a robust market for him as a rental player.
“Keep in mind, San Jose gave the Vancouver Canucks two second-round picks for Sherwood on Jan. 19. So I do think an extension and Sherwood staying put in San Jose is the best-case scenario for everyone involved. And I think Sherwood wants to stay.”
The clock is ticking, with the March 6 trade deadline now exactly a week away. The Sharks play three more games in that span — all at home against the Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets and Montreal Canadiens — and how the roster fares in that span will likely decide what Grier and the front office end up doing.
“I think it’s more likely than not he’s moved if the Sharks can’t extend him over the next week,” LeBrun concluded.
It's another storyline to watch in a week that should be full of them around the National Hockey League. Sherwood played just over 19 minutes in Thursday's 4-1 loss to the Calgary Flames, and he should continue to see a ton of ice time over San Jose's final three games before the deadline.
