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Pair of NHL trades give Vancouver Canucks fans increased hope about Sherwood's value

Trevor Beggs
Trevor Beggs
|
Dec 20 2025, 5:45 pm
Pair of NHL trades give Vancouver Canucks fans increased hope about Sherwood's value
Bob Frid/Imagn Images

A pair of NHL trades were made before the roster freeze deadline on Friday night.

And both of the returns should have Vancouver Canucks fans feel even more optimistic about netting decent value out of pending free agent, Kiefer Sherwood.

On Friday night, the Los Angeles Kings traded Philip Danault back to the team that drafted him, the Montreal Canadiens, in exchange for a 2026 second-round pick.

Yes, centres have more trade value than wingers, and Danault plays a drastically different role than Sherwood. However, a second-round pick for a player who has no goals and five assists in 30 games this season is instructive.

That wasn’t the only trade made by a Pacific Division team before the roster freeze deadline.

The Seattle Kraken shipped winger Mason Marchment off to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for a second-round pick in 2027 and a fourth-round pick in 2026.

Seattle just traded third and fourth-round picks in the offseason to get Marchment from Dallas.

So far this season, Marchment has four goals and 13 points in 29 games for the Kraken.

Combined, Marchment and Danault have four goals and 18 points in 2025-26.

Sherwood, meanwhile, after his second hat trick of the season on Friday against the New York Islanders, has 16 goals and 20 points.

The logic seems simple for Canucks fans. If players like Marchment and Danault can net at least a second-round pick, Sherwood should at least be able to get the Canucks a first-rounder, right?

Not so fast.

It’s not that Sherwood isn’t worth a first-round pick, but recent NHL history suggests that first-round picks aren’t often swapped for wingers.

Based on NHL trades since the beginning of last season, here are all the players that were involved in trades for a first-round pick.

  • Yaroslav Askarov (goalie)
  • David Jiricek (defenceman)
  • J.T. Miller (centre)
  • Marcus Pettersson (defenceman)
  • Mikael Granlund/Cody Ceci (centre/defenceman)
  • Oliver Bjorkstrand/Yanni Gourde (winger/centre)
  • Mikko Rantanen (winger)
  • Brock Nelson (centre)
  • Jake Walman (defenceman)
  • Scott Laughton (centre)
  • Brandon Carlo (defenceman)
  • Noah Dobson (defenceman)
  • K’Andre Miller (defenceman)
  • Quinn Hughes (defenceman)

Outside of Rantanen, the only winger who’s been involved in a trade for a first-round pick is Oliver Bjorkstrand. Tampa Bay acquired the Danish winger, Yanni Gourde, and a fifth-round pick in exchange for Michael Essiymont, a second-round pick, and two top-10 protected first-round picks in 2026 and 2027.

Even though 30-year-old wingers often don’t net a first-round pick in return via trade, the Bjorkstrand deal suggests it’s possible.

And, if the Marchment and Danault trades taught Canucks fans anything, it’s that Sherwood should be worth a first-round pick. Whether a team actually parts with one is another question.

If the Canucks are gunning for a first-rounder, they might be wise to target a team that holds multiple first-round picks in this year’s draft. Two teams that have previously been linked to Sherwood, the Boston Bruins and New York Islanders, meet that criteria.

Currently, Sherwood is on pace for 38 goals this season. Only eight Canucks players have surpassed the 35-goal mark in a single season over the last quarter-century.

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