The New York Rangers have some intriguing roster battles ahead of the season, and one veteran appears to have done enough to make the roster.
NHL insider Vincent Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic believes veteran forward Conor Sheary has done enough to turn his PTO into a contract. Mercogliano believes Sheary has impressed enough to earn a roster spot
“Meanwhile, it looks like the Rangers are leaning toward Sheary as their third-line left wing,” Mercogliano wrote. “The 33-year-old came to camp on a PTO and has played his way into a likely deal, with three points (one goal and two assists) through three preseason appearances and a speedy forechecking game that Sullivan is quite familiar with from their time together in Pittsburgh.”
Sheary agreed to terminate the final year of his three-year, $6 million deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning as he was in the AHL. The veteran forward didn’t want to spend another year in the minors and passed up on his $2 million salary to try and earn a full-time NHL roster spot elsewhere.
Now, after an impressive training camp and preseason, Sheary appears to have done enough to earn a roster spot.
Rangers Coach Made an Interesting Comment About Sheary
As Sheary was battling for a roster spot, Rangers coach Mike Sullivan made an interesting comment about him.
Sheary has played with the likes of Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin in the past, showing he can play on the top line. However, Sullivan shut that down with the Rangers as he says Sheary is more of a bottom-six forward with the team.
“I’ve coached him for a while,” Sullivan said. “I know his game pretty well, and I know what it looks like when he’s at his best. He’s a great puck-pursuit forward. He’s a dog on a bone on the puck. He knocks a lot of pucks down. He’s got a great stick. He has an offensive dimension to his game. He’s shown an ability to score some goals in this league. He can play on a second power play. I wouldn’t deem him a top-six forward in this league. But, he’s a guy that can play in your top six if you need him to, because he has the offensive instincts to do it.
“But positionally, he’s a pretty sound player. He sees it pretty well. He’s in the right spots a lot of times. There’s detail positionally in his game. So, what I expected we would get from him is what we’ve seen since the start of training camp and the games that he’s played.”
Sheary has skated in 593 career games, recording 124 goals and 143 assists for 267 points. He won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017 when Sullivan was his coach.
Sheary Explains Reason for Signing With New York
Despite Sheary having $2 million guaranteed on his deal with the Lightning, he agreed to walk away from it to be a free agent.
Sheary says the money no longer mattered as he just wanted to be an NHL player again.
“I just knew I needed to get out of there,” Sheary said. “I’ve had a good long career. Made more money than I ever thought I was going to make — the experiences you have and the chances you have to win and play in these games in the NHL, they’re probably numbered. So I wanted to give myself the best opportunity to get back there.”
Sheary should be in the Rangers lineup on Oct. 7 against the Penguins.
Insider Gives Rangers Veteran Forward Good News Depite Coach’s Comments