Vancouver Canucks linked to Montreal Canadiens player in potential Sherwood trade

Perhaps it’s time for Kiefer Sherwood to start brushing up on his French.

The Vancouver Canucks winger continues to be at the epicentre of trade rumours around the league.

And on Wednesday, CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal told listeners of Donnie and Dhali what he was hearing regarding the Canucks’ pending unrestricted free agent.

“#Canucks scouted the Montreal/Ottawa game last night, could they be trying to get a young player like Zach Bolduc?..”@DhaliwalSports on the continued trade interest in #Canucks Forward Kiefer Sherwoodhttps://t.co/h4e2SKM7eJ pic.twitter.com/STxiQNBE7l

— Donnie & Dhali (@DonnieandDhali) December 3, 2025

“Five to seven teams are well-positioned to give the Canucks what they want [for Sherwood], which is a young player as opposed to a futures deal,” Dhaliwal said.

So, which teams might be in the running to trade a young player to the Canucks for Sherwood?

“Wouldn’t surprise me if two teams that are showing more than a passing interest in Sherwood, they’re Minnesota and Montreal,” he said.

Both teams had previously been linked to the 30-year-old winger.

Montreal, in particular, has built an impressive stable of young players and assets. They’re looking to make the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time since they qualified in both 2019-20 and 2020-21.

“Canucks scouted the Montreal/Ottawa game last night,” Dhaliwal said. “Could they be trying to get a young player like Zach Bolduc?”

The Canadiens just acquired the 22-year-old Bolduc from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for young defenceman Logan Mailloux back on July 1.

Bolduc was fresh off his rookie season, where he posted 19 goals and 36 points in 72 games. So far in 2025-26, the Quebec native has six goals and 12 points in 25 games.

He’s not the fastest skater, but he’s good positionally and plays a responsible, 200-foot game. Bolduc also succeeds in getting most of his shots from dangerous areas on the ice.

Bolduc has had a strong start to his NHL career. (JFresh Hockey)

There are a couple of issues when it pertains to an actual trade involving Sherwood and Bolduc.

One, would the Canadiens really be willing to give up on a 22-year-old player they just acquired, who’s played well, for Sherwood?

The other is that the Canucks need a centre, and Bolduc is a winger.

However, maybe the Canucks view him as someone who can play centre, as Bolduc spent some time there as a member of the QMJHL’s Quebec Remparts.

Rutherford is the guy

Dhaliwal went on to provide more details about the Canucks and their ongoing trade talks.

“I did hear that Jim Rutherford is certainly the point guy on all trades,” Dhaliwal reported.

“You wanna talk? You’re calling Jim. You want info? You’re calling Jim.”

Dhaliwal’s co-host, Don Taylor, asked the question that most Canucks fans are probably thinking.

“What happened to the general manager?” he said.

Trade negotiations are typically a responsibility of the general manager. And, when Patrik Allvin was introduced as Canucks general manager back in 2022, that’s what Rutherford made it sound like as well.

“Patrik is going to be able to work the day-to-day stuff as a general manager,” Rutherford told the media during Allvin’s introductory press conference back in 2022. “The Vancouver Canucks are Patrik’s team now.”

According to Dhaliwal’s report, things may have changed.

The Canucks’ reporter also touched on the Philadelphia Flyers and Canucks talking about a potential trade.

“Someone told me the canucks really like Owen Tippett in Philly,” he said. “But that would be a hard get.”

He later said that if the Canucks were to target Tippett, it wouldn’t be in a trade involving Sherwood.

Tippett, who turns 27 in February, is in the second year of an eight-year deal paying him $6.2 million per season. He doesn’t have any trade protection right now, but Tippett does have a 10-team no-trade list as part of his contract starting next season.

For those hoping the Canucks might snag draft picks or futures in upcoming trades, the reports that they want players like Bolduc and Tippett are far from ideal.