Eye-opening report exposes Kiefer Sherwood's huge asking price to stay a Vancouver Canuck

Vancouver Canucks forward Kiefer Sherwood is having yet another strong season, leading the team in goals with 12 in 24 games and while he's slowed down a bit on that front recently, he's still bringing that high energy and physicality night in, night out, which is exactly what Adam Foote's group needs right now.

With Sherwood set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer, the Vancouver Canucks began preliminary talks on a new contract during the offseason, but nothing came of it, especially after the Columbus, Ohio native decided to change agents a few weeks before training camp.

Sherwood's future with the Vancouver Canucks is unclear at the moment as while the club would certainly love to keep him around, his play has likely priced them out and this week, the front office made him, along with other pending UFAs on the roster, available on the trade market.

During a recent edition of Sens 1-on-1 in the Ottawa Citizen, former NHLer and current Sportsnet analyst Nick Kypreos was discussing potential trade targets for the Ottawa Senators and Kiefer Sherwood's name popped up.

Kypreos went on to talk about what Kiefer Sherwood's next contract could look like and he mentions that the 30-year-old is reportedly seeking $5 million or more annually on a six-year contract.

There's no question that Kiefer Sherwood's contract right now, which comes with a $1.5 million cap hit, is an absolute bargain and while he does bring a lot to the Canucks' lineup, it's hard to justify paying him more than $5 million per season.

If that's how the Canucks feel, which some reports indicate, then it's probably safe to say that he'll be on his way out of Vancouver before the deadline on Friday, March 6th and could Patrik Allvin a decent return, possibly even a second round pick.