Canucks Trade Sherwood To Sharks For Multiple Pieces

The Vancouver Canucks have finally traded Kiefer Sherwood after all of the rumors involving so many teams, but the team that landed him came out of left field and late. The San Jose Sharks, who are one year removed from finishing dead last in the NHL and are now in a playoff spot, have landed the veteran winger without a contract extension.

Trade details:

To #sjsharks:
F Kiefer Sherwood

To #Canucks:
2026 SJS 2nd Round Pick
2027 SJS 2nd Round Pick
D Cole Clayton#TheFutureIsTeal
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) January 19, 2026

The Sharks avoided sending a first-round pick to the Canucks as it was recently reported by David Pagnotta that the Canucks softened their ask for Sherwood to get the ball rolling. The Sharks still own two first-round picks, a second-round pick, and one from all of the following rounds except the third round in 2026.

Whether or not Philipp Kurashev returns soon or not, this is a strong upgrade for a team fighting for a playoff spot with a solid chance of making it, especially considering they made the move early. Draft picks start to mean less when a team is going to be in the playoffs and still have three picks in the first two rounds this year.

On the Canucks side of things, they could have probably been able to get a first-round pick for Sherwood if they waited and an extension was involved, but might not have wanted to risk things as Sherwood is currently sidelined and may not have had any better deals on the table at the moment.

After the first two deals of the season by the Canucks, they have now acquired a first and a second round pick in 2026, meaning they have four draft picks in the first two rounds as it stands right now. While this doesn't 100% mean that the Canucks are rebuilding, it seems likely and the logical choice considering where they're at and how the future currently looks.