Forward Kiefer Sherwood’s debut with the San Jose Sharks will have to happen at another time.

The injured Sherwood traveled to Vancouver and took part in the Sharks’ morning skate on Tuesday at Rogers Arena but will not play against the Canucks as San Jose opens a five-game road trip.

Sherwood, who was acquired by the Sharks from the Canucks on Jan. 19, hasn’t played since he sustained an upper body injury in Vancouver’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Jan. 10.

Before the trade, Sherwood, a pending unrestricted free agent, led the cellar-dwelling Canucks with 17 goals. Since arriving in San Jose last week, Sherwood has been skating with development coach Mike Ricci, and Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky expressed optimism over the weekend that the 30-year-old winger would be able to play sometime on the team’s road trip.

Sherwood, too, was hoping to be available to play Tuesday in his return to the city where he spent 1 1/2 seasons and affirmed himself as an impactful NHL player.

“I want to get out there as soon as I can and help the team before the break,” Sherwood said last week. “(That’s) kind of my focus right now, and I want to add as much as I can to the group, just give us the best chance.”

After Tuesday, the Sharks play the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday, the Calgary Flames on Saturday, the Chicago Blackhawks on Feb. 2 and the Colorado Avalanche on Feb. 4.

It was unclear whether Sherwood would need to take part in a practice with contact before he could be activated. The Sharks are scheduled to practice in Vancouver on Wednesday afternoon before they travel to Edmonton.

#SJSharks lines at morning skate:
Graf-Celebrini-Smith
Regenda-Wennberg-Toffoli
Eklund-Misa-Gaudette
Goodrow-Ostapchuk-Reaves
Skinner-Kurashev-Sherwood

Orlov-Klingberg
Ferraro-Liljegren
Dickinson-Desharnais
Mukhamadullin-Iorio

— Max Miller (@Real_Max_Miller) January 27, 2026

The Sharks right now have 22 players on their active roster and can add Sherwood without making another transaction. Forward Philipp Kurashev and defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin, also on IR, are on the trip as well and could be available to play at some point soon, possibly forcing general manager Mike Grier into some tough roster decisions.

When healthy, the physical Sherwood figures to be a key addition to a Sharks team that is hoping to make the playoffs for the first time since 2019.

The Sharks entered Tuesday in the Western Conference’s second wild card spot with 55 points, same as Los Angeles but ahead of the Kings due to the regulation time victories tiebreaker. The Sharks have 15 and the Kings have 13. Both teams are four points back of the Anaheim Ducks for third place in the Pacific Division.

Sherwood can play up and down the Sharks’ lineup and contribute on the power play and penalty kill. In 44 games with the Canucks this season, Sherwood had 23 points and was averaging 17:23 in ice time per game. Sherwood joined the Canucks in July 2024 and had 63 points, including 36 goals, in 122 games with the team.

The Sharks have beaten the Canucks in both of their meetings this season, including a 6-3 victory in Vancouver on Dec. 27. In his return to hometown, Macklin Celebrini had a goal and an assist and eight shots on goal in almost 22 minutes of ice time.

The Canucks (17-30-5), hampered by several key injuries, have won just two of 15 games since that loss to the Sharks and are in last place in the NHL’s overall standings with 39 points.

A day after placing defenseman Zeev Buium and forward Brock Boeser on injured reserve, the Canucks on Tuesday announced that No. 1 goalie Thatcher Demko will have hip surgery and miss the rest of season.

Yaroslav Askarov stopped 24 of 27 shots in that game against the Canucks last month and will start again on Tuesday night. In his last five games, Askarov is 1-3-0 with an .836 save percentage. His most recent game was last Tuesday when he stopped 16 of 19 shots in a 4-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

NOTES 

The Sharks are keeping the same lineup as they had in Friday’s win over the Rangers, meaning winger Jeff Skinner and defenseman Vincent Iorio, a Vancouver-area native, will again be healthy scratches. Skinner has now been scratched for six consecutive games, and Iorio has sat for five straight. Iorio played in the Dec. 27 game in Vancouver and had an assist in close to 15 minutes of ice time. Skinner’s last game came on Jan. 11 when he had an assist in the Sharks’ 7-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.