Even with uncertain future, Conor Sheary is happy to be back with Penguins

The NHL’s pause due to the coronavirus pandemic is hardly ideal for Conor Sheary, a pending unrestricted free-agent forward.

With the potentially dire economic consequences the league is already facing as a result of essentially shutting down business for the better part of three months, the salary cap, which is tied to hockey-related revenues, could very well see a drop for this upcoming offseason.

The timing of this could not be worse for the Penguins forward.

Then again, he could be facing this predicament as a member of the wretched Buffalo Sabres, his former team which won’t be playing another game until the fall or even the winter.

Reacquired by the Penguins in a trade Feb. 24, Sheary will likely get a chance to display his value — albeit in a cost-adjusted market — this summer should the NHL’s plan for a postseason tournament be realized this summer.

“Obviously, this offseason will be a little bit different, obviously a little bit shorter,” Sheary said during a video conference call with local reporters Tuesday. “Things might have to be done a little bit quicker. But from my perspective, this will be a good opportunity for me to continue to play and continue to prove myself going into free agency this summer. I don’t want to think about it too much. Right now, the focus is on the team and what we can do in these playoffs. Hopefully, something good can come from that.”

The Penguins brought Sheary back because he was pretty good in 2016 and ‘17 as a member of the franchise’s two most recent Stanley Cup-winning teams. During each of those triumphs, he primarily played on a line with franchise center Sidney Crosby.

So when he returned to the Penguins in February, it didn’t take a considerable amount of rumination in determining who his center would be.

“He’s a pretty consistent player,” Sheary said of Crosby. “His work ethic has always been the same. The mold of his game has always been the same. With the few games that I was able to play alongside him since I got back, I think it was a pretty smooth transition, and I think his game is very similar, if not the same. He tries to stick to that and he tries to play the same way night in and night out. It just goes to show the consistency of his game. I don’t think much has changed.”

Joining the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on an AHL contract in 2014 as an undrafted free agent out of Massachusetts-Amherst, Sheary signed an NHL deal in 2015 and made his NHL debut Dec. 16 of that year, a few days after Mike Sullivan took over as coach in December. Almost immediately, Sheary was placed on Crosby’s line.

Their chemistry was immediate, but it was one-sided. That’s to say Sheary was quick to give the puck to his established centerman instead of taking the shot himself. In 44 games that season, Sheary only produced 10 points (seven goals, three assists).

By the time the 2016 playoffs rolled around, Sheary had figured out a balance between shooting and passing with the sport’s greatest player on his line. In 23 postseason games, Sheary had 10 points (four goals, six assists), including arguably the most famous goal of his career, his overtime score in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, a 2-1 win against the San Jose Sharks.

“It’s not only with Sid,” Sheary said. “When you first get to the NHL, you kind feel like the players you’re playing with are these star players and you always have to get them the puck. It was a comfortability thing. When I got some games under my belt and I got some confidence myself, I was able to branch out a little bit and play off him as opposed to giving him the puck all the time.”

That confidence manifested itself in what remains Sheary’s signature season of 2016-17 when he established career highs in goals (23) and points (53) in 61 games and helped win the Stanley Cup once again, this time on a line with Crosby and then-rookie Jake Guentzel. That success prompted management to sign Sheary, then a restricted free agent, to a three-year contract with a salary cap hit of $3 million in July 2017.

Less than a year later, he was sent to the Sabres.

After struggling throughout the 2017-18 campaign and watching his offensive totals tumble to 18 goals and 30 points in 79 games, the Penguins traded Sheary to Buffalo, primarily to clear salary cap space to sign unrestricted free agent defenseman Jack Johnson, a transaction that has drawn heavy scrutiny.

Any hopes of Sheary establishing the same cohesion with Sabres franchise center Jack Eichel that he enjoyed with Crosby were never realized and Sheary languished through a mostly unremarkable existence in Buffalo over parts of two seasons before returning to Pittsburgh.

The Penguins brought Sheary back due in part to Guentzel being sidelined long-term with a severe right shoulder injury he suffered in December. Before the NHL halted play in mid-March, it was assumed Guentzel’s season was over and Sheary was brought in to help replace some of that lost offense.

Now, a reunion between Sheary, Crosby and Guentzel is entirely possible after the hiatus. Guentzel has joined Sheary during the team’s voluntary workouts in Cranberry as parts of the NHL’s second phase for potentially returning to play.

“We had a good run together when I was here last time,” Sheary said. “I don’t think much has changed in any of our games that it wouldn’t be a smooth transition back to growing that chemistry. If we do get that opportunity, I think we can really contribute offensively and also be a responsible line at the same time. We can be excited for the fact that might happen.”

In the eight games he was able to suit up in his encore for the Penguins, Sheary primarily skated with Crosby as well as Jason Zucker and recorded four points (one goal, three assists).

(Video courtesy NHL)

With a potential training camp still weeks away from happening, to say nothing of actual games, any discussion of the Penguins’ line combinations remains academic at this point.

Regardless, Sheary is happy he still has a chance to compete, even if his future is uncertain as the NHL faces the likely prospect of playing games in late summer and early fall.

“I don’t think you ever expect to be playing this time of year,” Sheary said. “But I think the consensus is a lot of guys, we just want to play and we want to finish the season and obviously reward the Stanley Cup. No matter what that takes, we’re willing to do that.

“We just want to get the season done. This is the only way to do that. We’re all willing to do that.”

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