Jeff Paterson: What is Kiefer Sherwood worth in a trade? Where is Quinn’s head at now?

Jeff Paterson: What is Kiefer Sherwood worth in a trade? Where is Quinn’s head at now?

Saren Price from the historic Wall Center as we welcome in our Conucks reporter, the host of Rinkwide Vancouver. They’ll be busy this weekend, Friday after the San Jose 100 p.m. matinea game and then of course Saturday night after the Canucks game against the LA Kings. But it’s been a very big week of news for the Vancouver Conucks and it’s our first opportunity to unpack it all with Jeff Patterson. Jeff, how we doing? Yeah, good. But uh it has been an eventful week and uh it was a wild win. It was fun hockey. We had a lot to talk about on rinkwide and we’ll see. I kind of feel like it’s going to be a primer for the San Jose game because the Sharks don’t really defend either. And so maybe the Conucks getting ready to pick up backto back wins. Dare I say it, back-to-back wins for the first time in a month. And bring it on. If the Sharks play like the Ducks, I’ll take that game 82 times a year in California. You have the two fun teams and then you have the LA Kings and they’re to be to be fair. I mean, we’ve not only lamb basted the Canucks for just their their quality overall, but their quality of entertainment in particular. So, uh they didn’t waste two and a half hours of our attention last night. So, I I thank them for that, Jeff. That like honestly, Jeff, last time you can remember a game that fun from the Canucks. Well, I mean, you could point at the 85 game in Florida, although I didn’t find that game nearly as endearing as last night, and there were more goals. Uh there was third string or fourth string goalenders in that game. Uh Kuck scored five in both of them, but last night was just wild with the the lack of defense. I mean, the two on short-handed breakaway and it felt like everybody had a breakaway in that hockey game. And so, uh kind of racking my brain here. I mean, we’ve spent a lot of time talking about how dismal the Canucks have been on home ice and the atmosphere at Rogers Arena. I don’t think they play differently. Like, I don’t think they approach the games differently on the road. And yet they have scored five or more on six different occasions this season. And only one of those has come in front of the home fans. And that was opening night against Calgary. That feels like a million years ago. So save some of the fun for the home games. You may not win them all, but at least as you said, people will feel like uh they were entertained. They got their money’s worth. And so it is strange. Like Max Sassin has scored all of his goals on the road. Drew Oconor, five of his seven have come on the road of Andrew Kane, three of his four have come away from home. uh they got to figure out a way to, you know, a little more offense at home maybe leads to a few more victories along the way. Whatever the case, uh they have been pretty good on the road. Uh just been terrible at home. My one theory on it is that they just go into onto road games feeling like they are up against it like they are the underdogs. And I don’t know that they I get the same vibes from them at home games. And they really should start to think that because they are the underdogs. They are overmatched in all games now. But I I don’t know. It’s like they feel written off in road games and so they want to prove us wrong. Yeah. I mean, there might be something to that. Somebody should just hand them a copy of the standings before they go out on the ice at Rogers Arena. Then that would kind of be the reality check that perhaps they need. Um, they found a way to get out in front even though other teams have come back. I mean, both Florida and Anaheim erase two goal deficits and then the Conucks I mean they figured it out and got it right last night in Anaheim. Game got away from them against Florida. But uh yeah, I mean it’s wild to think six goals in Tampa, five in Florida, five more uh in Anaheim. Again, they get outshot badly, outplayed for long stretches, but they are riding an absolute percentage bender away from home when it comes to putting pucks in the net. So, we’ll see how long it lasts, if it carries on here on this road trip. Uh again, it makes for entertaining hockey and it certainly gives us lots to talk about and break down uh on every episode of Frank Wide. All right, let’s get to the events of the week, Jeff, because we’re sitting here doing Monday’s show. We’re uh about to connect with you live from Rogers Arena after what seems like another practice, and then there’s a delay on the coach’s media availability. Pick it up from there. What did you see? Yeah, it was pretty standard. Uh it was a Monday practice after the bad loss to the Calgary Flames. And so practice looked like most practices do. We went into the locker room, talked to the players that we wanted to talk to, and then we’re told that the coach would be out momentarily. That was pretty standard operating procedure for covering a an NHL practice day. And then the wait began and it continued and basically we watched as Quinn Hughes went into the coach’s office. We then saw Patrick Alvine and Jim Rutherford. At that point, I mean, a summit had been convened in the bowels of Rogers Arena and really weren’t sure what was going on. and even the PR staffers weren’t uh certain about the events of the day as they were unfolding in real time. Anyways, it took about an hour for Adam Foot to finally come out and meet the media and that’s when he dropped the cashews and cigarettes line among other things. Uh as it turns out, you know, we all get what we need at the rink, go our separate ways, and then I don’t think it was a coincidence that Monday night the story comes out as they prepare to embark on a four-ame trip that’s going to keep them out of town uh for the better part of a week here. Jim Rutherford says what he says. Uh the words gets out. First it was Freriedman and another trance and PJ talked to Rutherford himself. Um you know it all felt very calculated that because they weren’t going to be like can you imagine if that story gets out on Monday and they’ve got a morning skate at home on Tuesday uh the Hawks that would have descended on Rogers Arena and all the players would have been asked all about their futures and what’s going on. Uh again the hockey club knew the schedule is what it is. they’re going away for a week. And so I think it kind of allowed management to to air this story, get it out there uh and just let it uh breathe a little bit. Yeah. Uh it sounded calculated and of course there’s a calculation now going forward. Uh do you interpret what Ratherford had to say to PJ as the Canucks punting on this season? And do you see any world where Quinn Hughes is back next year if they are in fact punting on this season? Punting on the season, I think it was just a reality check. Again, these comments came in the wake of probably their worst loss of the season. When you look at the opponent, when you look at the way that game shook down, uh it was inexcusable on Sunday. Like you’re going to lose and they have lost a bunch and they’ll lose a bunch more as the season goes. But Calgary had played the night before. Uh Canucks got a goal what 65 seconds into the hockey game from Phil. Like they got the start they were looking for and then just watched as the flames the flames took over and that second period was so dismal. Um and inexcusable quite frankly. Again take the result out of the question. This is pro sports. More is expected. More has to be expected from these guys. And the second period just looked like a team that basically didn’t give a damn. And I think management must have seen it the same way. And and so uh you know sort of connect the dots a little bit here as far as punting on the season. Look, they’re tied for 29th. Even the win in Anaheim, they’re tied for 29th in the standings. They’ve got their work cut out for them. And I think they’ve come to this conclusion that uh through many of their own decisions, flawed roster construction, some failed bets right off the top with Thatcher Demco and Philip Heedle both staying healthy and they try Lucas Reichel as a patch that didn’t work. And now you got David Camp as your second line center. You’re not moving forward uh as a successful National Hockey League outfit. And I say that with all due respect to David Camp, he shouldn’t be the second line center on this hockey club. So, I think I’m at a point now where uh you know, if they punt on the season, so be it. Um, but you’re right. I mean, it’s But does that lose? I mean, yeah. Well, that’s I mean, you can say, “Hey, punt on the season,” but there are bigger dominoes to fall here. Um, again, I’m not in Quinn’s head. think he hasn’t looked like he’s having a ton of fun and that’s fine uh to some degree but ultimately uh he is going to have to make a decision here and I hope that he would do right by the Cox and I think he would like I don’t think he’s going to play himself unrestricted free agency and just walk uh I think he will alert the Conucks to his decision if he uh gets to that point where he is in his mind sold on the fact that it’s not happening here I suppose the hail Mary for the bank of Kucks is the $18 million by8-year offer that they can make to this guy that nobody else in the National Hockey League can right now. And Quinn’s going to get paid wherever he goes. So, I don’t know how much of this is money and how much an $18 million a year offer could sway him. But it is the one card that my guess is, yeah, they may have discussed some degree of framework. I don’t know if the Conucks have actually laid that kind of proposal in front of Quinn Hughes, but we know the brother connection. I I I think more than anything though, it is about winning for Quinn Hughes. And this is a guy that’s now 26, so you know, he’s still got lots of years ahead of him, but it’s not like he’s got forever to be part of a Stanley Cup winner. And so I think that’s going to drive his decision through all of this. Um, and yeah, I mean, if they completely break this thing down, uh, it would be hard for me to see Quinn Hughes envisioning a path forward, uh, to be in a Stanley Cup champ here in Vancouver. So, I’ve said it all along. I hope I am wrong. I enjoy watching Quinn Hughes, best defenseman certainly, and one of the best players in franchise history. We all know that. I hope I’m wrong, but I have solidly been in the camp that thinks that when Bush comes to shove, he is going to pursue a career elsewhere at some point. And I just don’t know when that time is going to be. Whether it’s through the Quinn Hughes lens or not, it’s just objectively super early to trade off assets. Like even teams that are absolutely committed to a rebuild, this would be very early. I mean, we are not even into December for heaven’s sakes. Is there any we’ve arrived at US Thanksgiving so I think these conversations can now officially talk be talked about I know like didn’t never want me looking at the standings on rinkwide but he was okay that we reached US Thanksgiving that kind of changes uh the framework a little bit but you’re right and it takes two to make a deal and I think there are a lot of teams out there that may not even know what they want or what they need at this point and so the Canucks can say we’re open for business to try to gauge the playing field and get a sense of you know the value of some of their assets But I also think that there are a lot of teams that whether it’s financial, whether it’s they want to give their own team another 15, 20 games to really get a sense of where they are and and what they need. I mean, that’s part of why we haven’t seen the trade market. So, yeah, you can put the shingle out on your front lawn that you’re having a garage sale, but that doesn’t mean that you’re going to get all these people flocking to your front door um on your terms. So, we’ll see where it goes uh through all of that. But you know the other part in this guys is like the one quote that Jim Rutherford had to Patrick Johnston about uh really this is just moving it up a couple of months. He’s suggesting that they were going to get to this point where they were going to trade all these players off. Right. Did we not go through this exercise just 6 months ago where they had pending unrestricted free agents and opted not to? I mean, a slightly different situation as far as the standings were concerned, but you know, there’s a big part of me that will believe it when I see it that these guys will actually get into seller mode because whether it’s management, whether it’s ownership again, it’s one thing to talk about it here in late November, but uh it is another to actually start to to strip this thing down. Well, with that in mind, Jeff, is there any chance it’s just a motivational tool that they actually don’t want to pull off any deals right now? They’re just going to see how the team reacts to this becoming public. Oh, I don’t see it that way. And yet the first game out after the comments, you know, they do what they had to do to get a victory. Um, so we’ll give them another chance, I suppose, and see how the weekend goes here, but I don’t think one win in isolation should change anything around this hockey club. Again, uh, they need elite level talent. I don’t know where they’re going to find that. I don’t think they should be parting with any sort of assets to address that need for the remainder of this season. So, I do think that they should be sellers, whether it’s now or in the months to come. And Kefir Sherwood is a player that I think any team with playoff aspirations should be hot and heavy after. Like, I I just think this guy could help just about any team in the National Hockey League, especially at this price point. But, you know, it’s abundantly clear now that last year wasn’t the outlier, that there is more skill there. He has continued to back it up with physical play, penalty killing. Uh there’s just a lot to like in Kefir Sherwood and I would think he could help any team in the National Hockey League. And the same goes for Connor Garland. And look, I get that they committed to Connor Garland and he’s got the extension there and you know, is that a bad look in the Vancouver Conucks if you recommit to a guy and then turn around and and try and pedal them. But you know, good teams, they want to win at the fringes. And I think whether it’s Kefir Sherwood or a Connor Garland, you know, you would be beefing up your third line. like either one of those guys would really help a playoffbound team uh a little bit lower in the lineup. And I I guess for me, the Conucks are probably trying to tell to sell Kefir Sherwood as a leading goal scorer on a National Hockey League team and then acquiring clubs are saying, “Well, hang on a sec. We’re looking at him as more of a a third liner here.” So, that’s all part of the negotiation, right? And ultimately, you have to figure out uh the best value and the best uh option available for the Vancouver Conucks and and so we’ll see where that one goes. But I do think that’s part of this dynamic of, you know, we think we’ve got a leading goal scorer, which they’re not wrong. It’s just that he’s leading goal scorer on a bad hockey club. And yeah, no, I hear what you’re saying, Jeff. I mean, that goes on with every uh trade negotiation, right? You know, you find the dings and dents and scratches and the other guy is selling you the perfectly polished. Is a late first enough then for Sherwood, Jeff? Would you would you accept a late first? In my mind, it is. I I think I think just optically the word firstrounder. I think if you’re trading to a good team, it’s going to be the back end of the first round. But if the Vancouver Canucks can turn a year and a half of Kefir Sherwood at the price point they had him and all the goals that he’s given to them and the hits record and everything, if they can turn that into a first round draft pick, I think that’s pretty solid business. And uh it would give them two first rounders, something that they haven’t had for a little while. And when you look back at one of the reasons they are where they are with this lack of elite level talent, they’ve traded too many first rounders here in the last five or six years, they’ve had other guys that haven’t panned out obviously. I mean, that is a big part of the talent drain for the Vancouver Conucks and you know, you look at the Anaheim Ducks. Uh they haven’t won anything yet, but they certainly look like they’re on their path and they are a team that is built at the top end of the draft. So, uh, I’m not talking about the Conucks getting uh in their own pick could end up, I guess, being a lottery pick, but if you’re getting a a firstrounder from somebody else, again, probably a playoffbound team that will put the pick in the late half of the first round. But I still think that would be pretty solid work on the part of this management group to turn Kefir Sherwood into any sort of first round draft pick. I’m not going to suggest the Conucks get better if they trade away Garland and Sherwood or Kane and Sherwood, but certainly in the Kane Sherwood scenario, Jeeoff, I think you could make the argument there is a narrow path where they are no worse in that Jonathan Laceri has played very nicely at Absford since coming back from injury and you it would open up a spot for him and of course you got Neil Hoglander uh in the ON deck circle here in the next week as well who if you get the real Neil Hoglander is a Sherwood like kind of player. So there is a world in which they don’t get demonstrabably worse if Lecramaki and Hoglander can show up and be the players that they want them to be. Yeah, I would agree with that. Uh I mean if they’re going to strip it away, I I I do wish that there was a a little bit more in Abbottzford that they were clearing a path forward for. Unfortunately, that’s just who they are and where they are. But you’re right, Hoglander sort of the forgotten man, out of sight, out of mind here. Uh but such a wild card too because you just don’t know whether you’re getting the eight goal nil Hoglander, the 24 goal nil Hoglander or two years ago. Plus he’s trying to pick up and hit the ground running when everybody else has 30 or 35 games under their belt. And we saw how difficult that was for Dakota Joshua last year, different circumstances, but still a lengthy layoff from the start of the season and you are in catchup mode right away. And also Nils Hoglander comes back. Does he get a chance to play with Leas Patterson? he doesn’t I mean the set of ice options in terms of puck distribution and playmaking uh not terribly attractive and so for him to get back to being that 24 goal guy from a couple of seasons ago some of that’s going to be on him but he can’t do it in isolation but no to your broader point there um I think a lot of people would sign up for that if you could move Kane and somebody else and plug those two guys in you’re getting younger uh you hope you’re getting a little bit hungrier and ultimately you know Those are players that you can move forward with uh both now and over the longer hall where Evander Kane’s not going to be around here long term and I I just don’t know at this point. I mean, it’s good that Kane scored uh in Anaheim. I just don’t know what if any trade value he has in the same sort Teddy Bluger penalty killing utility. The fact that he’s been hurt doesn’t help their cause here. But either way, you’re not getting franchise altering returns for those types of players. And so that’s why I think I would be all in on looking long and hard at shopping both Kefir Sherwood and a guy like Connor Garland that could return you, I think, reasonable almost significant assets. I’ll leave you both with this and I will concede it is not apples to apples, but there are some similarities here. Do you guys remember when the Nashville Predators traded Tanner, you know? Mhm. And look, at the time he was an RFA, Kefir Sherwood is a UFA and he was younger. He had 24 goals the previous season. He was not actually having that great a year at the time of the deadline. And yes, it is also true that Tampa was Stanley Cup or bust at that time. Do you guys remember the return for Tanner? Well, it was five draft picks, wasn’t it? That’s right. Cal Foot, Adam Sun, who was a first round draft pick in his own, a firstrounder two years down the road, a second rounder one year down the road, and then three picks, a third, fourth, and fifth in that upcoming draft. Shoot big for Sherwood. Hockey men will love him. Somebody I’m not sure you’re getting that price because I’m not sure anybody’s getting that price. It didn’t work out for Tampa, but I think they should aim awfully high uh for a Kefir Sherwood return, especially at this early stage of the season. Jeff, and that’s on management. That’s on management to drive the best bargain and create a market here. Market when I see like I think there should be a bunch of teams that want to sink their hooks into Kefir Sherwood who we see the on ice, but he’s also he’s as lowmaintenance as they come. Like he’s just a good locker room figure. He would fit in seamlessly anywhere. like they have to sell all of those traits to an acquiring team here and hopefully drive a market for this player. 100% right, Jeeoff. You got a busy weekend ahead with rankwide Vancouver following the 100 p.m. Matinea start in San Jose on Friday and then the conventional Saturday night after the Kings and Canucks. Uh Jeff and Rinkwide Vancouver have you covered. We’ll catch up on Monday. Thank you for this, sir. Yeah, have a great weekend, guys. So, we’ll reconvene and uh see what this weekend holds when we talk again on Monday.

RinkWide’s Jeff Paterson with a full game recap from the Ducks game. JPat also addresses the newsy week off the ice, what the effect will be on the future of Hughes, and the guys debate the return for a player like Sherwood.

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