{"id":482283,"date":"2026-03-03T06:35:49","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T06:35:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/482283\/"},"modified":"2026-03-03T06:35:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T06:35:49","slug":"could-kiefer-sherwood-be-the-avalanches-midseason-upgrade-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/482283\/","title":{"rendered":"Could Kiefer Sherwood Be the Avalanche\u2019s Midseason Upgrade?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Kiefer Sherwood&#8217;s tenure with the San Jose Sharks could be short-lived after all.<\/p>\n<p>The Colorado Avalanche are reportedly exploring trade options within the Western Conference as they look to fortify their lineup ahead of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, with Sherwood emerging as a potential target, per insider reports.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>Sherwood, recently acquired by San Jose from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for AHL defenseman Cole Clayton and two second-round draft picks (2026 &amp; 2027), offers a rare combination of scoring ability, physicality, and playoff-ready competitiveness.<\/p>\n<p>In the 2024\u201325 season, Sherwood totaled 40 points (19 goals, 21 assists) across 78 games, consistently driving play while providing reliable two-way minutes. Beyond his offensive contributions, Sherwood is one of the league\u2019s most physical forwards, registering 462 hits, highlighting his willingness to engage and win battles along the boards \u2014 a trait that often proves decisive in the postseason.<\/p>\n<p>For a roster already positioned as a Stanley Cup contender, Sherwood\u2019s addition would address two critical needs: depth scoring and physicality. A forward who can contribute offensively while elevating the team\u2019s grit could provide the Avalanche with a meaningful edge in tight playoff matchups.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>From a financial standpoint, the Avalanche currently have approximately $2.3 million in cap space, making Sherwood\u2019s contract feasible without complex maneuvering. The bigger challenge lies in the potential return San Jose would demand.<\/p>\n<p>According to PuckPedia, Colorado holds two 2027 second-round picks, and acquiring Sherwood could require attaching a defensive prospect in addition to draft capital. The Avalanche would need to weigh this cost against the potential short-term benefit of adding a depth forward who might not re-sign beyond this season.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this season, the Colorado Avalanche were reportedly among the teams exploring a potential deal for Sherwood. While trade speculation swirled for weeks, the Vancouver Canucks ultimately sent the veteran forward to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for two second-round draft picks.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>With Colorado still assessing its needs at third-line center, Sherwood could re-emerge as a viable target. His modest $1.5 million cap hit combined with a potentially high upside makes him an appealing addition. The urgency may grow following Artturi Lehkonen\u2019s upper-body injury in Monday\u2019s game against the Los Angeles Kings. While the severity and timeline of Lehkonen\u2019s absence remain uncertain, a longer-term injury could make Sherwood an even more attractive option for the Avalanche.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, the decision rests with Avalanche general manager Chris McFarland. Investing multiple second-round selections and a prospect for a potential rental is a calculated risk \u2014 one that must balance immediate playoff impact with the team\u2019s long-term competitive strategy.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Image\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"standard-img\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/21c0a32c17cf7791167b40a5903d55cf.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Image<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kiefer Sherwood&#8217;s tenure with the San Jose Sharks could be short-lived after all. The Colorado Avalanche are reportedly&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":482284,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5116],"tags":[2320,193,192,144,5277,5,6386,145,4,168,27,2071],"class_list":{"0":"post-482283","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-colorado-avalanche","8":"tag-artturi-lehkonen","9":"tag-avalanche","10":"tag-colorado","11":"tag-colorado-avalanche","12":"tag-coloradoavalanche","13":"tag-hockey","14":"tag-kiefer-sherwood","15":"tag-los-angeles-kings","16":"tag-nhl","17":"tag-san-jose-sharks","18":"tag-vancouver-canucks","19":"tag-western-conference"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116163863727492788","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=482283"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482283\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/482284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=482283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=482283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=482283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}