The Pittsburgh Penguins have re-signed forward Conor Sheary to a three deal that will pay him $9 million, for an AAV of $3 million per year. Sheary was one of the Penguins restricted free agents going into this off-season and a priority to sign. He had a great season offensively for the Penguins despite being hurt at the end of the year.
PIT and Conor Sheary reach a three-year, $9M deal
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 30, 2017
Conor Sheary Signs Back With the Pittsburgh Penguins
Sheary had a coming out party this season after being one of the key Wilkes-Barre Scranton call-ups during the 2015-2016 Stanley Cup run. In 61 games, he had 23 goals and 53 points. He likely would have had better numbers had he not been out for stretches of this season with injuries.
Sheary spent much of the season on the top line a lot this season with captain Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel. Guentzel was called up during the season and never went back down. They ended up being called the “Sid and the kids line” by some fans and media.
Sheary wasn’t the same when he came back from his injury a couple weeks before the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It seemed to hurt his confidence a bit. He was even scratched for a game, which seemed unthinkable during the beginning of the regular season. He was able to get some of his confidence back though after being reunited with Crosby and Guentzel for the playoffs. This boost in confidence was clear during a spectacular Game 7 against the Ottawa Senators when he set up the first Chris Kunitz goal.
Sheary is a young player but, he is the kind of top six winger that the Penguins will need down the road as Crosby and Evgeni Malkin start to get older.
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