Vancouver Canucks trade winger Kiefer Sherwood to San Jose Sharks

“First and foremost, I’m just really thankful for everything that this city and this organization has given me. … As a guy that’s been a late bloomer, it’s been everything I could have hoped for and more. This is really a special place to play.”

The 30-year-old forward has been a bright spot for the struggling Canucks this season.

Sherwood leads the team in goals with 17 alongside six assists over 44 games this season, and posted career highs in goals (19), assists (21) and points (40) for Vancouver last season.

He leaves a Canucks team that heads into a home game against the New York Islanders on Monday night mired in a 10-game winless streak (0-8-2) and sitting at the bottom of the NHL standings with a 16-27-5 record.

“As a competitor, you always get frustrated after every loss. So of course there’s frustration,” Sherwood said of the lack of team success this season. “But that’s life. … The things that we were dealt as a team and the adversity over these few years that are out of our control. Sometimes it’s not what happens but how you respond.”

The 30-year-old undrafted forward from Columbus, Ohio, is in the final year of the two-year, US$3-million deal he signed as a free agent on July 1, 2024.

Vancouver tried to work on an extension with Sherwood going back to last summer, said Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin.

“I respect Kiefer and his point of view, where he is in his life. And he earned it and deserves to get paid,” he said. “But that wasn’t the term where we were comfortable going.”

Sherwood previously played for the Nashville Predators, Colorado Avalanche and Anaheim Ducks.

In San Jose, he joins an up-and-coming core that includes 19-year-old phenom Macklin Celebrini.

“I know they have some special players coming up in their system,” Sherwood said. “It’s pretty exciting. But I’m just trying to be in the present right now and process everything.”

Leaving Vancouver is hard, though, he added, noting that he and his wife are expecting their first child at the end of April and they’ll tell their daughter about the great times they had in the city.

“Business is business at the end of the day and I think that’s sometimes the hard part about it,” Sherwood said.

“I’m really grateful and appreciative and really loved my time here.”

The trade was a “tough one” for the Canucks’ front office, Allvin said.

“Kiefer Sherwood has been a great addition to our team here for two years,” said the GM.

“We believed in him as a player and I think he’s taken tremendous steps here over the two years. Well-liked player on the ice, well-liked person in the community. And he’s going to be missed.”

The return from San Jose will help Vancouver as it looks to revamp its roster, he added.

“We were looking to accumulate more draft capital here for this year and also moving forward. It’s important with the rebuild, going a little younger,” Allvin said.

Clayton comes to Vancouver after recording two goals and three assists over 33 games with the American Hockey League’s San Jose Barracuda this season.

The six-foot-two, 200-pound blue liner from Strathmore, Alta., has 66 points over 257 regular-season AHL games, and has appeared in 14 Calder Cup playoff matches.

He signed with the Sharks as an undrafted free agent on July 1.

Allvin said the Canucks likely aren’t done making deals.

“I do expect more,” he said. “If you look around the league, it’s just starting here, lately, to pick up a little bit more. … I would imagine there is going to be some more transactions coming.”

The NHL trade deadline is on March 6.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 19, 2026.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

Vancouver Canucks trade winger Kiefer Sherwood to San Jose Sharks

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