Canucks 2025-26 Player Preview: Kiefer Sherwood – Hockey Writer – Vancouver Canucks

With Frenzy, the original free agent in the 2025 NHL Draft and books, we now turn to previewing the 2025-26 season of Vancouver Garners. I don’t think I have to do a transcript, but rather I want to change the content and preview it. In this ongoing offseason series, I will work hard to sneak into every player in the Canucks, even the prospects – a review of last season, their expectations entered the season and, finally, predicting what their final statistics might look like. As far as potential clients are concerned, I’ll go a little deeper and talk about their place in the pipeline and their future in the NHL and Canucks colors.

Related: Canucks 2025-26 Player Preview: AATU RATY

In the first of the series, I discuss Aatu Raty. Next is his frequent lap length at the end of the 2024-25 season, NHL regular season record holder Kiefer Sherwood.

Kiefer Sherwood

• How to get: Free agent signed on July 1, 2024
• Team 2024-25: Vancouver Canucks
• 2024-25 Data: NHL regular season record 462 times, with 19 goals and 40 points in 78 games
• 2025-26 Contract Status: Signed a two-year deal worth $1.5 million at an average annual value that ends in 2025-26

2024-25 season review

When Sherwood signed on the first day of the free agent agency last summer, there wasn’t a lot of big fanfare around. He is a bottom player who provides physical condition and scores occasionally. Not too exciting. He absolutely does not expect to be a game-changer. Not only did he hit (a lot), he also became one of the Canucks’ top scorers, with a career-high 19 goals (4 more than Elias Pettersson) and tied for fourth with Conor Garland. Six of these 19 goals are also champions, which led to the team. While this may just be a prosecution of the overall lack of offense in the lineup, it is still an impressive feat of someone brought into the pest rather than offensive Dynamo.

Sherwood’s physical condition is on display every night as he can easily break his former teammate Jeremy Lauzon’s record of 386 hits in 2023-24. In fact, he won another 76. When he finished less than 5 games, there was very few games and he could easily lead the league in over 10 hits. He has 10 times, including two 12 outings. Somehow, he did play against his former club, Colorado Avalanche, on April 10, where he was classified as zero, which seems to be a statistician’s mistake. He did finish the game with one goal and two points, though, which made up for that. But it’s hard for me to believe that he didn’t get a hit in that game, considering his Mo.

Overall, Sherwood surpasses all expectations experts, fans, and maybe even Canucks’ front desk and coaching staff at the start of the 2024-25 season. He essentially replaced Dakota Joshua, who recovered his first few weeks in offseason surgery, now Sherwood is in the roster, and Joshua doesn’t. This is his influence. Hopefully he can replicate the same success this season. The difference is that everyone expects him, which may put more stress on his shoulders. However, I have a feeling that he will face challenges.

Expectations for the 2025-26 season

As mentioned earlier, Sherwood is expected to have the same impact on the roster this season as last season. He seems to throw away his body wired, so I have no doubt that he will be a hot leader again. Whether he matches his record or exceeds it remains to be seen, but the main question I think everyone will think of is whether he can replicate the offense he offers to the bottom six? Prior to last season, he had never scored more than 10 goals in his career. 2024-25 Is it the beginning of something, or is it the flash in the pot? Canucks fans hope this is the former, as he is probably the most exciting positive they have gained in a season full of disappointments.

Sherwood has an offensive history in the American Hockey League (AHL), with 58 goals in 99 games between 2021-22 and 2022-23, so that’s not to say he’s never classified as a shooter. His speed and shots also sometimes bordered the elite range last season, as he saw in his first professional brief goal and natural hat trick against the Avalanche on December 16:

Sherwood also fits in the tortuous style of head coach Adam Foote, as the NHL veteran is always in the body when playing for the Avalanche and Columbus blue jacket. He certainly has plenty of opportunities to crack the top nine and play with talented players. He was showing chemistry with Raty at the end of the season, so I hope he will line up with the rookies on opening night with the third day. As an even duo, they posted a 54.10 percentage of CORSI (CF%) and outside rivals 73-51 (35-23 high gy), with Canadian Canucks scoring seven high-crisis goals on the ice. If Foote sticks to his duo like his former boss Rick Tocchet, they can join the season on the hips.

quotation marks

You know what he just accomplished everything. If he’s around another guy, he’s finishing him. Where is he? He is a warrior. He competes with the best of them. He broke the hot record this year, yes, yes, I mean, he leans on it regardless of the people around him, and that’s a big deal for us.

– Tyler Myers’ Sherwood’s impact on the team last season

“It’s hard to fight it, and that’s why the team brought me here…I just tried to fight it. It’s all about it, both mentally, verbally and physically. That’s what I need to bring to every night.”

– Sherwood’s game style

Final statistical prediction

Sherwood should once again be a big part of the Canucks this season. He may not score 19 more goals, but no matter where he plays in the roster, his body will still make a difference. I predict double digits, but probably between 10-15 goals unless he goes to the top six with Filip Chytil or Elias Pettersson. If that happens, I won’t be surprised to see him breaking 20 goals. But, to be sure, he will get more than 300 hits, making his opponent afraid of being hit on the board every time he is on the ice.