Could Kiefer Sherwood Be the Missing Piece in the Vancouver Canucks’ Championship Puzzle?

When it comes to Kiefer Sherwood and the Vancouver Canucks, there’s an unmistakable air of cautious optimism swirling around his forthcoming contract. Sherwood has emerged as a key contributor this season, lighting a spark when the team needed it most, yet the front office is still navigating the shadows cast by previous extensions that didn’t pan out as hoped. Take Dakota Joshua’s deal, for example — a cautionary tale amplified by unfortunate health setbacks. On the flip side, Connor Garland’s steady performance since his extension serves as a compelling counterpoint, encouraging belief in Sherwood’s potential longevity with the squad. As the Canucks juggle the highs and lows of past commitments, the question remains: how much faith should they put in Sherwood’s next chapter? With the season’s early results defying some skeptical expectations — and despite missing key players — Sherwood’s heartbeat continues to resonate on the ice. The balancing act between hope and hesitation has never been more palpable. LEARN MORE

Past experiences may have the Vancouver Canucks being a little cautious with Kiefer Sherwood’s next contract

Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman on 32 Thoughts: The Podcast – The most pleasant surprise starts in the NHL episode, on the Vancouver Canucks and pending free agent Kiefer Sherwood. Past experience may have them a little nervous.

** NHLRumors.com transcription 

“Kiefer Sherwood, to me, is an interesting one. And you know, he’s a UFA after this year, and the Canucks are weighing what to do here. It’s, it’s interesting.

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I think teams, they tend to look at things that don’t go right as opposed to things that do go right. You know, one of the things they’ve been weighing was the Canucks extended Dakota Joshua. It didn’t go well. Although, you know, let’s be honest here, there were some health issues there that absolutely 100% deserve to be mentioned as part of the equation. But I think they were a bit scared off by that.

And then, but of course, one of their best players all year long, consistently has been another guy they extended Connor Garland. He has shown that he has not lost any edge or energy since the Canucks extended him.

But you know, Sherwood, on Sunday night, he was fantastic in a game the Canucks needed to have.

…

But you know, he’s, you know, Vancouver, what did Quinn Hughes say at the beginning of the year? I want, we have to have a good start, right? 5-5, not as good as you’d probably want. But there were, I bet there were a bunch of Canucks fans that thought it would be 4-6 when they were playing that back-to-back, and they knew that Quinn Hughes wasn’t playing. So that was, that was a big win.

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And Sherwood will be an interesting one, because he’s clearly a huge heartbeat of that team. And the Caduceus can look at it and say, ‘Okay, we had one that didn’t work, but we had one that did.’ And what’s your confidence level in a guy like Sherwood here?”

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