Should the Wild target Canucks forward Kiefer Sherwood?

Contending teams are always on the hunt for players who can put them over the top, and one of the players likely to be available on the trade market this year is Vancouver Canucks forward Kiefer Sherwood.

A hard-hitting checker with a solid goal-scoring touch, Sherwood has been a massive bright spot in an otherwise brutal season in Vancouver, as he’s racked up 12 goals in 27 games as the Canucks own a 10-14-3 record and sit in seventh place in the Pacific Division.

One team who could be interested is the Minnesota Wild, who have shaken off a slow start to shoot up the standings to third place in the Central Division with a 15-7-5 record.

On Wednesday’s episode of Morning Cuppa Hockey, host Jonny Lazarus and co-host and former NHL defenseman Colby Cohen were joined by Sportsnet NHL insider Elliotte Friedman to discuss Sherwood’s fit on the Wild.

Jonny Lazarus: “If you are the Minnesota Wild right now, and you’re Billy Guerin and you want to reward this team in any possible way, what are their options right now? They’re probably a playoff team right now, but I wouldn’t expect them to make any crazy moves.”

Elliotte Friedman: “I think he’s been looking at both forwards and defense. Like I think he’s in on (Kiefer) Sherwood. I think that’s a player that has interest to Bill. I don’t know how quickly Vancouver is going to move here. Like I’d initially thought that Sherwood might go by the end of this Vancouver road trip, but I was told to dial that one back that, and that’s probably not going to happen.

And I’ve heard that Vancouver is asking high as they should, like they should ask high and see if somebody says yes. So that might be a bit of a slower process. I’m also not sure if Minnesota would be thinking about him as a rental or a player they would try to keep. I do think Minnesota is one of the teams that’s in on Sherwood.

But I think (Guerin is) looking for a player with some edge. And I also think he’s been looking for a defenseman with some edge. Now it might have changed. I haven’t spoken to them in a couple of weeks, but I know that earlier in the year, they were concerned that their blue line wasn’t playing ‘mean enough’. We’ll see if their feelings have changed on there… I don’t know if he’s still looking for the D with edge, but he’s definitely in on Sherwood.”

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…