The Vancouver Canucks' willingness to entertain trade offers for their UFA-eligible players has made Kiefer Sherwood one of the most notable names in the rumor mill.
Before this season, the 30-year-old Sherwood was a little-known checking-line forward. After spending his first six NHL seasons with the Anaheim Ducks, Colorado Avalanche and Nashville Predators, he enjoyed a career-best 19 goals and 21 assists for 40 points last season with the Canucks.
Sherwood currently leads the Canucks with 12 goals, putting him on pace to reach 36 goals this season. He's in the final season of a two-year contract with an affordable $1.5-million cap hit.
Given the limited number of sellers thus far, the NHL trade market is thin on quality talent. That's made Sherwood an enticing trade target for playoff contenders. While his production has cooled lately, his feisty style of play is tailor-made for the physical grind of post-season hockey.
TSN's Pierre LeBrun reported Tuesday the Minnesota Wild, Montreal Canadiens and Dallas Stars were among a long list of teams to inquire about Sherwood. Sportsnet's Ryan Dixon looked at the impact Sherwood could have with the Philadelphia Flyers, New York Islanders, Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning.
Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reported the Columbus Blue Jackets had contacted the Canucks about Sherwood. Meanwhile, NHL.com's Dan Rosen suggested the Pittsburgh Penguins might be a good fit. The Buffalo Sabres, Avalanche and Detroit Red Wings have also surfaced as potential destinations for Sherwood.
LeBrun indicated that the Canucks aren't in any rush to move Sherwood, preferring to take their time to explore the trade market. He also wondered if any of those interested clubs would want to sign the veteran winger to a contract extension, as that would raise his trade value for the Canucks.
It's understandable why the Canucks would prefer to remain patient, as it could drive up the return for Sherwood. However, that stance also carries the risk of injury or a decline in his production.
Three Potential Trade Fits For Canucks' Kiefer SherwoodKiefer Sherwood is among the Canucks' top trade candidates, and these three teams should consider trying to acquire the hard-hitting forward. Turning to the Islanders, they could use someone like Sherwood to offset the loss of right winger Kyle Palmieri to a season-ending knee injury. That would explain why they were mentioned among the clubs linked to the Canucks right winger.
The Hockey News' Russell Macias says the Islanders have a depth-scoring crisis. And Ethan Sears of the New York Postbelieves they could use another scoring forward and some physicality among their checking lines.
Those traits would make Sherwood an enticing option for the Isles.
Sears also felt that they must improve their defense corps, pointing out the loss of left-shot blueliner Alexander Romanov, plus they never fully replaced Noah Dobson on the right side after trading him to Montreal last summer.
However, Sears cautioned that Isles management should avoid hasty decisions that would sacrifice their future first-round picks or top prospects for a short-term replacement for Palmieri.
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