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What would a Kiefer Sherwood extension look like with the Canucks?

Originally posted on Canucksarmy | By Tyson Cole | Last updated Jul 4, 2025 12:00 PM ET

The Vancouver Canucks did not make a ton of noise on the free agent market on July 1.

Instead, they decided to hand out three contract extensions to Brock Boeser, Thatcher Demko and Conor Garland. This is a great look for an organization that has been deemed a broken locker room and a bad place to play, yet they lock up three of their core players.

With Demko and Garland still under contract for one more season before their extension kicks in, the Canucks have one more player they have yet to extend: Kiefer Sherwood.

The Canucks signed Sherwood last offseason from the Nashville Predators. They got a front-row seat to precisely the type of player he was during their round one playoff matchup against the Predators. Captain Quinn Hughes told GM Patrik Allvin that he was most excited about Sherwood last offseason as he “pissed everybody off” in that playoff series.

Sherwood brought that same level of intensity throughout his first year with the Canucks.

Sherwood’s season

Sporting Todd Bertuzzi’s old number 44, Sherwood stepped up in a similar fashion as a real bruiser. He may not have fought like Bertuzzi, but he sure made his presence felt on each and every shift he was out there. Sherwood made a great first impression on his new teammates, as he was not afraid to throw his body. The six-foot forward landed 44 hits through his first six games and didn’t look back.

The hard-hitting winger continued his truculent style of game throughout the season, shattering the previous NHL hits record set by his former teammate Jeremy Lauzon the year prior, laying 462 hits. Sherwood exploded with double-digit hits in 10 of his 78 games. Throwing the body that often and only missing four games proved how durable the 30-year-old could be.

But Sherwood brought more than physicality. He set career-highs in goals (19), assists (21), points (40), penalty minutes (14:53), shots on goal (141) and hits, of course.

The first-year Canuck was recognized for his efforts as he took home the team’s “Unsung Hero” award. Sherwood’s physicality combined with his offensive contributions brought a mix of skills that the Canucks hadn’t seen in some time. And an asset they likely want to hold onto for years to come.

So, what would a contract extension look like for the physical winger?

What might a Sherwood extension look like?

Sherwood signed a two-year, $3 million contract with an average annual value (AAV) of $1.5 million. And after setting career highs in almost every statistical category, he is due a hefty raise.

Nobody in NHL history has hit as much as Sherwood has in a season. And ones that come close, rarely bring the same offensive upside as Sherwood brought with his 40 points.

Therefore, it’s challenging to identify an accurate contract comparable for Sherwood. But these are the closest ones we could find:

Via The Nation Network

Sherwood leads most of this group in all of the categories. The only player that narrowly edges Sherwood is Will Cuylle, who would probably be the best contract comparable for Sherwood.

Cuylle just signed a two-year $3.9 million AAV extension with the New York Rangers this offseason. Sherwood trails Cuylle by one goal, five points, 12 seconds of average time on ice, and 11 shots on goal, but in four more games. The big discrepancy would be the hit category, where Sherwood threw 161 more hits than Cuylle.

However, with a seven-year age gap between the two, Sherwood is likely to come in at a smaller AAV than Cuylle.

AFP Analytics projects Sherwood would come in at $2,751,840 annually on a three-year extension. Although, the four comparables we have listed all make between $3 – $4 million annually. And with Sherwood outproducing three of the four, and with the rising salary cap, we would project the Canuck forward to demand a bit higher of an AAV than AFP Analytics projects.

Our projection likely falls somewhere between $3.3 – $3.7 million on a three-year deal. Let’s call it $3.5 million AAV.

There are a pair of restricted free agents and one unrestricted free agent who might also be good comparables for Sherwood for you to keep an eye on for what number they come in at this offseason:

Via The Nation Network

Would this be too expensive for the Canucks to retain? As currently constructed, the organization is littered with middle-six wingers hovering around that $3 million range: Dakota Joshua ($3.25 million), Nils Höglander ($3 million) and Drew O’Connor ($2.5 million).

However, Sherwood brings a combination of physicality and offence that makes him more valuable than most of the wingers already on the team. We’ll see if he can replicate the season he had last year, but as of this writing the Canucks project to have over $19 million in cap space next season with only Evander Kane and Sherwood of importance to re-sign.

What do you think, Canucks fans? Do you agree with our three-year, $3.5 million extension range for Sherwood? And would you sign him to that deal?

This article first appeared on Canucksarmy and was syndicated with permission.

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