Report: Sharks May Flip Kiefer Sherwood in Deadline Trade

Six days ago, Kiefer Sherwood was traded from the Vancouver Canucks to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Cole Clayton, a 2026 second-round pick, and a 2027 second-round pick. The physical forward has yet to make his debut in teal, still sidelined with an upper-body injury, but talk of his potential departure has already begun to surface.

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There was no extension included as part of the deal that sent Sherwood to San Jose, which, according to team reporter Curtis Pashelka, leaves open the possibility that GM Mike Grier could look to flip him again as a rental ahead of the deadline — especially if it becomes evident that Sherwood might walk for nothing in the offseason.

Pashelka wrote:

“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… Grier must also 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… It remains unclear how long Sherwood will be in San Jose.”

The 30-year-old Sherwood is, of course, a pending UFA in the second and final season of the two-year, $3 million contract he signed to join the Canucks in free agency of 2024. He’s tallied 23 points (17 goals, six assists) across 44 games played in 2025-26.

San Jose Should Be Able to Extend Kiefer Sherwood

While Sherwood’s future in Northern California is somewhat uncertain, it really shouldn’t be an issue for the Sharks to find a way to extend their recent trade acquisition.

As Pashelka referred to in his piece, San Jose is projected to have close to $55 million in cap space this summer. Yes, they’ll obviously need to factor in upcoming contracts for Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith, along with filling other holes on the roster, but that shouldn’t prevent them from spending $4–5 million on a multi-year extension to keep Sherwood in the mix moving forward.

He’s exactly the type of player the Sharks need around their budding young core, so unless Sherwood shows little interest in re-signing or prices himself out of town, expect the two sides to eventually find common ground.

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