SAN JOSE – San Jose Sharks general manager Mike Grier did not spend two second round draft picks to acquire forward Kiefer Sherwood from the Vancouver Canucks earlier this week just to see him walk away from the team later this year as an unrestricted free agent.
With that in mind, Grier is optimistic he can get a contract extension done with the hard-nosed Sherwood, who Grier feels will play an important role for the Sharks for years to come.
“He kind of fits the identity of what we want to be as a team,” Grier said of Sherwood, who the Sharks scouted at length in recent weeks after it became clear he was on the market.
“He’s what this team needs, as far as someone who plays with some sandpaper, some grit, some speed, some physicality.”
Sherwood, 30, is in the final year of a two-year, $3 million deal he signed with the Canucks as a free agent on July 1, 2024. He and the Canucks could not come to terms on an extension, with reports that he recently turned down a three or four-year deal that had a $4 million average annual value.
Sherwood’s next contract is expected to carry an AAV of at least $5 million. Whether that works for the Sharks is not totally clear, as the two camps were reportedly far apart in negotiations in their initial talks.
“I don’t believe in negotiating in the media and telling the media what’s going on and what the numbers are and what the term is and what it looks like, so I’ll just kind of leave it at that,” Grier said. “Post trade, we had a quick conversation. But we were just more focused on how excited we were to add Kiefer to the group, and I think he’s going to love it here. He’s excited. We’re excited to have him, and we think it’s a great fit.
“So hopefully down the road at some point, we’ll be able to work something out.”
Sherwood said Thursday that he’s liked what he’s seen in San Jose so far.
“I know the (practice) facility is pretty new, so I’m coming at a good time, I guess,” Sherwood said of Sharks Ice, which underwent extensive renovations this past summer. “But it’s been great. I’m really excited to join this group, and I just love the energy so far and I’m looking forward to get going.”
Although the Sharks have roughly $55 million in cap space available for next season, per PuckPedia, they also have several holes to fill with only 11 NHL players under contract.
Grier also must look ahead and ensure he has the cap space needed to ward off a possible offer sheet and sign Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith to extensions, as both players’ entry-level contracts expire in 2027. Celebrini’s next deal will likely make him one of the NHL’s highest-paid players, and Smith’s deal, too, figures to come with massive raise from the $950,000 salary he has now.
Still, this could be Sherwood’s last opportunity to cash in on a multi-year contract and Grier, who played 14 NHL seasons from 1996 to 2011, said he does not begrudge any player trying to maximize their value.
“I think we’ll be able to work something out, but we’ll just have to see how it goes,” Grier said Thursday after the Sharks held an event for elevated season ticket holders.
Asked if the Sharks could flip Sherwood before the NHL trade deadline on March 6 if further negotiations do not bear fruit, Grier said, “If someone calls, maybe I’ll listen and see what they have to say or if they want to make an offer. But his acquisition was a targeted acquisition.”
Sherwood, out with an undisclosed injury since Jan. 10, said Thursday he’s hoping to be in the lineup on Tuesday when the Sharks play in Vancouver to begin a five-game road trip.
Sherwood not only had 90 points in his last 190 games over the last two-plus seasons but also leads the NHL with a staggering 906 hits in that time despite his modest 6-foot, 194-pound frame.
Would Grier have any concerns about Sherwood’s body holding up if the Sharks and Sherwood’s camp come to an agreement on a multi-year deal that carries the winger into his mid-thirties?
“Not really,” Grier said. “I think he plays hard, but I think he takes really good care of himself. Ehen you play physical, there’s always the chance that you get hurt, or you break down a little bit. But I think how seriously he takes his profession and how he takes care of himself and trains, we’re confident he’ll be fine and he’ll age well.
“He skates Well, plays hard. So it’s not something we’re overly concerned about.”
The Sharks still have cap space to add of Grier has another trade in mind. But as he said often on Thursday, both to Sharks fans and to reporters, “I’m not going to do anything that’s short sighted. It’s all about continuing to grow and build the group.”
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