Sharks acquire Sherwood from Canucks

The Vancouver Canucks traded forward Kiefer Sherwood to the San Jose Sharks for defenseman Cole Clayton and second-round picks in 2026 and 2027, the teams announced Monday.

Sherwood was believed to be a hot commodity leading up to the trade deadline as a pending unrestricted free agent. He's notched 17 goals this season and owns a modest $1.5-million cap hit.

The 30-year-old is one of the most physical players in the NHL. He set a league record with 462 hits last season and ranks second this year with 210.

"As an organization, we take a lot of pride in giving him the opportunity to grow and excel as a player," Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin said of Sherwood. "Given where things currently stand and the direction of our rebuild, we felt it was necessary to make a move like this as we continue to build our pipeline."

Sherwood is currently on injured reserve and is unsure if he'll debut for the Sharks before the league breaks for the Olympics in early February, he told Rink Wide's Jeff Paterson.

Clayton, 25, is an undrafted right-shot blue-liner who's spent the past five seasons in the AHL. He managed five points in 33 games with the Sharks' affiliate before the trade.

San Jose still owns two first-round picks and a second in 2026. The Sharks haven't made the playoffs since 2019 but entered Monday holding the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

The Canucks, who now have four picks in the first two rounds of this year's draft, are in the midst of a rebuild after winning the Pacific Division only two seasons ago. Vancouver traded J.T. Miller last campaign, dealt captain Quinn Hughes in November, and is reportedly listening to offers on Elias Pettersson.