Decision Imminent as Sharks Willing to Trade Kiefer Sherwood

It doesn’t sound like Kiefer Sherwood is staying in San Jose. At the very least, the Sharks are considering flipping the forward ahead of the trade deadline on March 6, which might come as surprise given that the franchise is just five points out of the playoff mix.

But, the team is trending in the wrong direction, having lost four straight. Sherwood has only played in two games for the team, and a decision has to be made on his future. As a pending UFA, if a contract extension isn’t coming, the Sharks have to know that they could get something of value for him over the next couple of days. “The Sharks are open to the possibility of flipping Sherwood if they can’t get him signed,” Pierre LeBrun wrote in The Athletic on Friday. “It’s more likely than not he’s moved if the Sharks can’t extend him over the next week.”

The ask from the Sherwood camp on a new deal is about $30 million. That number apparently set the Sharks back a bit. They understood a raise was in order, but this beyond what they were expecting the number to be. LeBrun writes, “I get the sense that the first contract-extension conversation was a real wires-crossed moment as far as expectations from both sides.”