Rangers sign Conor Sheary to one-year contract

The New York Rangers announced on Monday that they have signed veteran forward Conor Sheary to a one-year contract.

According to PuckPedia, the deal comes with a salary cap hit of $775,000 while Sheary is a member of the NHL roster.

Sheary, who had been with the team in training camp on a PTO, provides a winning pedigree and familiarity with the franchise’s new head coach Mike Sullivan.

The Massachusetts native was a part of the Pittsburgh Penguins teams coached by Sullivan that claimed the 2016 and 2017 Stanley cup championships.

Sheary burst on to the scene as a rookie in 2015-16 with 10 points in 44 regular season games before matching that point total in just 10 postseason games.

He then followed that up with what still stands as a career-best season with 53 points (23 goals and 30 assists) in 61 games as the Penguins repeated the following year.

Sheary went on to play in stints with the Buffalo Sabres, Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning. Last year with the Lightning, Sheary appeared in just five NHL games. In 593 career regular season games, the five-foot-eight winger has racked up 124 goals and 143 assists for 267 total points.

The veteran appeared in each of New York’s final two preseason games, making a strong impression on his way to earning a contract.

The Rangers are set to start off their regular season schedule on Tuesday night against Sheary’s former team from Pittsburgh.

New York is looking to return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs after a sluggish 2024-25 season that saw them finish with a record of 39-36-5 that placed them fifth in the Metropolitan Division and comfortably outside the Eastern Conference wild card picture.

With Sullivan behind the bench and a top free agent on board to solidify the defense in Vladislav Gavrikov, the Rangers believe they will be in position to make those improvements.