Canucks reportedly make pricey offer to keep Kiefer Sherwood in Vancouver
I guess this is what “retool it a little bit with a hybrid formā looks like.
The Vancouver Canucks rank near the bottom of the NHL standings, and they don’t have a ton of obvious assets they can trade away, except for Kiefer Sherwood.
With Sherwood’s bargain two-year contract worth $1.5 million per season set to expire, the Canucks have a chance to land some noteworthy assets to help build for the future.
Or, they could defy logic and re-sign the 30-year-old to a pricey extension.
On Saturday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the Canucks and Sherwood had re-engaged on contract talks, although he said the two sides were still far apart.
Well, on Tuesday, CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal reported that the Canucks offered him a deal that certainly sounds reasonable for the Sherwood camp.
“I was told that the Canucks made a very respectable offer to Kiefer Sherwood. It sounds like the offer was in the $4 million per year range, in the medium term range…probably 4 to 5 years.”
Dhaliwal continued his report, saying that the Canucks tried to re-sign Sherwood last summer at a contract that was around three years, $3 million per season.
Since then, Sherwood has switched agents from Allain Roy to Rich Evans & Judd Moldaver of Wasserman Hockey, which is the third-largest agency representing NHL players.
Now, the Canucks could certainly still trade Sherwood for assets, and perhaps the fact that teams know he’s willing to negotiate could help the Canucks in a trade scenario.
However, Dhaliwal’s report that the Canucks gave him an offer close to fair market value makes you wonder if Patrik Allvin and company find a way to get Sherwood re-signed.
Look, Sherwood is a great hockey player and a fan favourite. And full disclosure, I was on board with the Canucks re-signing him if they were reasonably competing for a playoff spot.
But when you’re a team like the Canucks toiling near the bottom of the standings, trading Sherwood is the route you go.
The Canucks need to retain players who will help them win Stanley Cups. Re-signing a 30-year-old having a career season to a pricey extension when you’re years away from reasonably aligns a little more with the Jim Benning school of management, rather than the blueprint for Stanley Cup champions.
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