Sherwood has had a strong season with the Canucks, scoring 17 goals and 23 points in 44 games. In his first season with the British Columbian team in 2024-25, Sherwood scored a career-best 19 goals and 40 points, so he’ll pretty easily pass his career-best in goals. He has just shown the ability to score, as Sherwood set a new league high in hits last season with 462.

Clayton, 25, is an undrafted defenceman and has spent his past five seasons in the American Hockey League. The first four were spent with the Cleveland Monsters, the Columbus Blue Jackets’ affiliate. He scored a career-high five goals and 20 points in 59 games during the 2023-24 season. Last season, he served as their alternate captain. Through 33 games with the San Jose Barracuda, Clayton has two goals and five points and is a -5.

Who saw the Sharks buying ahead of the trade deadline? As of Wednesday morning, the Sharks have a 25-21-3 record with 53 points, occupying the final wild card spot. They’ve already surpassed their point total from last season.

Ilya Solovyov traded to Penguins

A former Calgary Flame is on the move, as the Colorado Avalanche traded Ilya Solovyov to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Valtteri Puustinen and a 2026 seventh-round pick.

Solovyov was drafted in the seventh-round of the 2020 draft and played 15 games with the Flames, picking up three assists. In his final year in the system, the left-shot defenceman scored six goals and 28 points in 59 American Hockey League games.

After being placed on waivers, the Avalanche claimed the Belarusian on Oct. 3. In 16 games with the Central Division powerhouse, Solovyov has a goal and three points, and is a -1. He’ll likely get more of an opportunity with the Penguins, who aren’t in the hunt for the Presidents’ Trophy.

Puustinen was also a seventh-round pick, as the Penguins selected him in the 2019 draft. He had strong seasons in Finland before coming to North America and lighting up the AHL. He made his National Hockey League debut in 2021-22, but only played one game.

In 2023-24, Puustinen played 52 games with the Penguins, scoring five goals and 20 points. However, it was back down to the AHL in 2024-25, playing just 13 games in the NHL. So far in 2025-26, Puustinen has yet to play his first game of the season.

This could end up being another diamond in the rough find for the Avalanche.

Nathan MacKinnon reaches 1,100 points

One Avalanche player who is a diamond, but was not found in the rough, is Nathan MacKinnon. On Monday, the first overall pick in 2013 reached the 1,100 point mark. He is the 70th play in league history to reach this mark, doing so with a half-slap shot right in front of the net, late in the third period.

Although MacKinnon was selected first overall, he had a relatively slow start to his career. Over his first four seasons, the Cole Harbour native scored just 75 goals and 206 points in 300 games.

But from there, MacKinnon became one of the league’s best, notching a 97 point season in 2017-18, a 99 point season in 2018-19, and a 93 point season in 2019-20. He finally reached the triple-digit point marker in 2022-23, scoring 42 goals and 111 points in 71 games. Then he won the Hart Trophy in 2023-24, scoring 51 goals and 140 points, before leading the league with 84 assists in 2024-25.

Through 47 games this season, MacKinnon leads the league with 38 goals and 85 points. At just 30 years old, MacKinnon still has a lot of his career left to add even more points.

Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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