Another big name is off the trade board. The San Jose Sharks recently confirmed their acquisition of Vancouver Canucks right winger Kiefer Sherwood in a trade. Going the other way is defenceman Cole Clayton, a second-round pick in this year's NHL Draft, and a second-round selection in next year's draft.
After previously trading away Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild, this Sherwood trade all but declares that the Canucks are heading towards a rebuild. On that note, the trade sets Vancouver up well to sell off more assets in the coming month-and-a-half; players like Evander Kane and even Elias Pettersson have found themselves at the center of trade rumours at some point in recent weeks.
For the Sharks, the trade basically sets the team on a collision course with the playoff race. They'll enter Monday's NHL action in possession of a Wild Card spot, but they're also in a four-team race with the Seattle Kraken, Los Angeles Kings, and Anaheim Ducks for third place in the Pacific Division. The acquisition makes them the first team to load up during this trade period, and it wouldn't exactly surprise me if a team like Los Angeles or Seattle made a move before either the pre-Olympic deadline or the March 6th trade deadline.
So far this season, Sherwood had tallied 23 points in 43 games played. Despite his assist totals taking a big dip thus far, he has scored seventeen goals. Once Sherwood returns from injury, he'll likely soon pass his previous career-best in goals, which he tallied last year when he scored nineteen goals in 78 games played. He was also on pace for the first thirty-goal season of his career; however, this prospect could become unlikely depending on when Sherwood returns.
Considering that Kiefer Sherwood was a third-liner at times this season, the Sharks can insert him on a line with Michael Misa and Igor Chernyshov. However, in considering the injury to Philipp Kurashev and the ability for Chernyshov and Pavol Regenda to play both left and right wing, there is going to be some flexibility and some big-time roster decisions (Sherwood himself is also on injured reserve, meaning that San Jose would have to reassign players in order to activate Sherwood and Kurashev and remain compliant with the NHL's roster caps).
The Sharks will play a game Monday against the Florida Panthers, with the conclusion of their back-to-back coming Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.