Kiefer Sherwood had a good idea that he was staying with the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday.
He then went out and had his best game in teal, scoring the game-winner and adding a highlight-reel assist in a dramatic 7-5 victory over the Montreal Canadiens.
Sherwood held court in an upbeat and hilarious conversation on Wednesday afternoon, after the San Jose Sharks announced that the pending UFA was coming back on a five-year, $28.75 million contract.
The 30-year-old winger was genuinely grateful to have finally found an NHL home, after bouncing around the Anaheim Ducks, Colorado Avalanche, Nashville Predators, and Vancouver Canucks organizations on much smaller and shorter contracts.
He credited some of the people in other organizations who kept him going, in his 20’s, when his NHL career was in the balance.
Here are some of the highlights from the half-hour (!) media availability…needless to say, Sherwood was in a fantastic mood!
Kiefer Sherwood, on what it means to be rewarded with an extension:
It feels like it’s still in a whirlwind and a long time coming, but I’m just super grateful to be here. To be able to be part of someone’s future is pretty special and obviously new to me. I kind of bounced around looking to find a home, and I’m just super grateful and super excited.
I know we’re building towards something special here, and just to be part of that in the future and help everyone along the way is pretty cool. Still trying to process it all.
We had a game last night, and obviously it’s been kind of a roller coaster, but we had a great result there at the end. It’s been kind of a lot, but I’ve just been super, super grateful and I’m just excited to get it going and continue to work with the fellas here.
Sherwood, on if he looked at a crystal ball three years ago and told himself he’d be signing a 5-year, $28.75 million contract, what he would tell himself:
I think I’d be in a little bit of disbelief, maybe? A little bit of shock?
I’ve always believed that things would work out [if I] continue to play the right way and do all the little things and try to be a pro on the team and continue to learn and grow my game. I think you just have to double down on your belief in yourself.
At times, it can be hard, obviously, with adversity in the way and hardships along the way, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. It’s kind of shaped me into who I am. I’ve been really fortunate, too. I’ve worked with a lot of good people and coaches. It’s like the saying “It takes a village to raise a kid,” and it’s so true. I’ve been really grateful to be in this position.
So many people that I run into have helped me and allowed me to continue growing and transform a little bit. I’m grateful for all of their help along the way. I think I did the math here, I’ve been an 8 years pro in hockey—and I haven’t been in the NHL the whole time—but just in the NHL, I’ve had 9 coaches now, so all of those coaches along the way, I try to take a little bit from each one.
Now, I’m really excited to learn from Warso—his fire and his passion is contagious, and it resonates with the group. He’s just such a great leader, so I’m excited to be here and continue to get this thing going and continue rolling.
Sherwood, on when everything came together with the San Jose Sharks on an extension:
I’ve just been fully trusting [my agent] in this process. He’s been such a huge part, obviously, in just supporting me, trusting me, and walking me through it.
I think things got finalized yesterday at some point, probably. I’ve been trying to wait and be patient for updates from him and just let him do his thing. For us, we’re eager to get something done, but having that peace of mind and being able to move forward and be here is something that we really wanted. It’s hard to see and value a place when you’re not there.
Then when the trade happened, we didn’t know exactly where everything would go, so it was a little uneasy at times, but we got here and are just super in love with being here so far, and I’m just really excited to continue to grow this future together with this group here.
Sherwood, on who believed most in him in his struggles, to drive him to this level of success:
There’s so many, there’s too many. A lot of people in this industry give up so much of their time and effort, so I can’t even remember all of them.
[Dan Hinote] was a big part in Nashville in helping me understand “adapt or die,” basically. I was just trying to find a way to stick and transform my game a little bit.
I know when I was in Colorado, I thought I was ready to be part of their [NHL] team, and whatever happened, happened. [Greg Cronin] in the A really helped me mature and grow my game mentally.
It’s kind of hard to touch on everyone, but I’m just so grateful to have worked with so many people along my way here. I think it’s kind of everyone’s win, I guess if you say, because there’s been so many people who have impacted me along this journey.
I’ve had great teammates along the way too who I try to understand and pick their brains.
There’s probably too many to say—things kind of took off in Vancouver, but I’m super grateful for them allowing me to do my thing and take the next step there.
I never really told anyone this, and I don’t know if he’d want me sharing, but [Rick Tocchet] pulled me aside last year—in New Jersey, I think—when I was kind of going through some ups and downs, and he gave me that belief. He said something along the lines of “Don’t settle for good. You can be a good player, you can be a $5 million player.”
As a player, you don’t really try to focus on that, because sometimes I think it can be a distraction to focus on that stuff outside of playing, but obviously it’s related. To have a coach even saying words like that, I’d never had a coach instill that kind of belief in me—[Tocc] is such a wonderful guy who, obviously, was a hell of a player. He kind of instilled that it was even a possibility—I’d never had a coach do that.
I was always trying to scratch and claw just to make it, but to have a coach instill a little belief and throw it out there like that, the idea that I shouldn’t just settle and keep pushing myself. I always remember taking that away.
There’s things along the journey that kind of resonate and fuel me even more now, like those kinds of conversations really go a long way. I think as the game progresses, as you have coaches that care enough to build a relationship, the players benefit from that. Just super grateful for that. Those are the guys who come to mind, but truthfully, there’s been so many. There’s too many to go through right now, but like I said, I’m just really grateful for everyone who’s helped me along the way and added tools in my toolbox, per se, to help me grow my game.
Sherwood, on what made him fall in love with San Jose so quickly:
Everything. First, the hockey and the team. I wanted to, obviously, bring and add to the identity. From the hockey front, from the coaching and the player and the group, everything. The identity that we’re trying to build.
Even the San Jose area is starting to be appreciated more as time goes on. My wife, Ariel, and I got married this summer up in Carmel, and it was her first time being in California. It’s kind of so random and things came full circle months later and now we’re expecting. I think it’s just the balance of the lifestyle.
Outside the rink too, San Jose has so many great areas for us to raise a family and take the next step towards fatherhood because that’s coming quickly. Even the hockey side of things and seeing how things are trending, I think being competitive is something that is really important to us, and we want to continue to grow. This is about continuing to grow something special here and build towards winning, ultimately.
You only get so many cracks at it in your career, and to be part of a group that’s going to be competitive and push for things here hopefully sooner rather than later, that’s the most exciting part. As the competitor, you want the chance to get a chance. That’s why you do it and why you play and continue to grow and elevate. I’m super excited to be part of a group that is pushing already, and we’re going to continue to push this thing forward and see how far we can take it. There’s obviously special things growing in the future.
Sherwood, on how he plans to celebrate tonight:
Good question. I think me and my wife are just going to have a little date night, maybe a little dinner, just to process things and let things kind of get a little quiet. We haven’t even had time to get the move situated. We’re trying to build things for the baby and get things undone and stuff. We’re probably going to have a quiet night and get some sleep—we’re still trying to figure out where dinner is going to be.
See the full interview here! Thanks to Maddie Dutra for her help transcribing.
