The Edmonton Oilers need to add to their depth scoring, this is something that is reportedly agreed upon by the front office staff according to recent rumours by NHL insiders.
One player that was available on the market who has emerged as a top-nine scoring winger in recent years is 30 year old winger, Kiefer Sherwood. Last week, he was acquired by the San Jose Sharks from the Vancouver Canucks for two second round draft picks and a prospect, Cole Clayton.
Sherwood has spent the past season and a half with the Canucks where he has scored 63 points (36 goals, 27 assists) through 122 games. He had been a revelation for the Canucks, playing a powerforward game nearing the league lead in hits the past two seasons.
He would have been a great fit for the Oilers who need to add goal scoring further down their lineup but ultimately, general manager Stan Bowman did not pull the trigger.
Oilers dodged a bullet missing out on Sherwood
The Oilers were never reportedly in on the Sherwood sweepstakes but it would not have been crazy had they been. He fits the team stylistically and with the skillset he brings fitting the franchise well too.
The cost of acquiring Sherwood was not bad at two second rounders and a prospect but what is the real issue with him is the fact that he wants a major raise when he is due an extension after he becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer.
The reported ask for Sherwood is $30 million over a long term contract, according to NHL insider Chris Johnston. This puts him at a range of $6 million per season over five years, all the way to $3.75 million over eight years.
Of course, $3.75 million is still quite the raise over his current contract, carrying a $1.5 million annual average value (AAV) but much better than $6 million. That appears to be the trade off with the possibility of stretching the AAV over the long term or a much higher cap hit but for shorter term.
Although Sherwood has become a valuable piece as an NHL top-nine forward, Bowman and company must be happy that they decided to sit this trade out. As good as Sherwood is and how well he would fit, paying him too much for a long period of time could blow up in a team's face. Especially given his age and rough style of play, the likelihood of him finishing a contract that is too long seems slim.
Thankfully, this is not the Oilers problem and the team has both the trade assets and the future cap open up to add if they need to between now and the March 6th NHL trade deadline.