With the way injuries have hounded the Minnesota Wild’s forward group, it’s no wonder that there has been some talk about general manager Bill Guerin putting out feelers to strengthen his top six. So far, nothing has come to fruition, but with Marco Rossi, Vlad Tarasenko, Ryan Hartman, and Vinnie Hinostroza still on the mend, there is no doubt Guerin would be interested in adding a forward. Per Elliotte Friedman, one team, the Vancouver Canucks, have opened up as potential sellers. However, the Wild may want to tread lightly when it comes to making a deal.
In general, the trade market around the NHL has been a little slow to get going this season. Part of the reason is that so many teams are within a few points of a playoff spot that general managers are reluctant to throw in the towel at this point. In the East, only five points separate the second Wild Card spot and last place. There is a bit more of a gap in the West, but there are still four teams within three points of Utah, the current placeholder for the last Wild Card spot.
A recent run of poor play has left the Vancouver Canucks seven points adrift of the Mammoth and a playoff spot, with an increasing amount of teams separating them. The downward trajectory has led Friedman to report that the team is “listening to offers” on their veteran players.
While it seems their ambition to retool but not completely destroy their roster does have some bounds as Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek are not available, and others like Elias Petersson and Brock Boeser are under long-term deals, there could be some intriguing names for teams like the Wild to call about.
One name that stands above the rest is forward Kiefer Sherwood. The 30-year-old forward is in the midst of a career season and counts just $1.5 million against the cap. He’ll also be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, so there is no long term commitment risk if a team acquires him.
Why he might make sense
The former Nashville Predator is coming off a career season where he had 40 points and set career highs in goals (19) and assists (21) while appearing in 78 games in his first season in Vancouver. He’s followed that up with 12 goals in his first 23 games this season. A right-shot forward on pace for 30+ goals with an expiring contract should be a hot commodity on the trade market.
There is a lot to like about Sherwood. The aforementioned fact that he is a right shot would help balance the Wild’s attack, which is heavy on left-shots, but is kind of sparse on the right side, especially with Hartman and Hinostroza out. Sherwood’s seven 5v5 goals would also be a boon for a team that has struggled to just 37 goals at evens this season. That puts them at 29th in the league. Matt Boldy currently leads the team with six 5v5 goals.
Sherwood is also one of Vancouver’s top penalty killers and has a short-handed goal to his credit. The more players that can kill penalties, the better.
Why Minnesota should proceed with caution
With that being said, there are some things that point to his hot start possibly being unsustainable, especially with a different organization. While his goal-scoring rates are way up compared to his career, some of his peripherals are down. He’s actually generating fewer expected goals and scoring chances on a per-60 basis than he did in his previous few seasons. His assist rates are also way down, which isn’t a surprise considering he only has four on the season at all strengths.
The biggest red flag that stands out is his shooting percentage. Throughout his 288-game career (which includes this season) he is at 12.1%. This season alone, he’s at 28.6% in all situations, including a 25% rate at 5v5 that is more than double his career average. History dictates that type of shooting success is extremely hard to carry through an entire season.
Could Sherwood help the Wild as they pursue not only the playoffs, but success past the first round? There is a good chance that he could, but the biggest question would be the price it would cost to acquire him. Minnesota is in a spot where they can offer other teams quite a bit, but overpaying for a forward that is riding a hot streak could not only backfire this season, but also into the future.