Rangers like what they are seeing in Conor Sheary's tryout
The Rangers' Conor Sheary skates against the New Jersey Devils during a preseason game at the Prudential Center on Sep. 21 in Newark, N.J. Credit: Getty Images/Bruce Bennett
GREENBURGH — When the Rangers played the penultimate game of their preseason schedule Thursday against the Devils at Madison Square Garden, Conor Sheary was in the lineup. And for a player who came to camp on a professional tryout agreement, that says a lot.
“It's definitely a different experience coming into a new room with a lot of new faces, and trying to turn some heads and make people appreciate your game,’’ Sheary said at the Rangers’ morning skate Thursday. “But it's almost back to the beginning of my career, and just proving to people that I can play in the league. It's just, kind of, a 10-year separation in that.’’
Entering training camp, it was thought that the opening at third line left wing would be filled by one of three young candidates — former first-round picks Brennan Othmann and Gabe Perreault, or former fifth-round pick Brett Berard. But Sheary, 33, joined the competition and has stood out.
He scored a goal in the preseason opener in Newark against the Devils on Sept. 21, and had two assists in his second game, last Thursday against the Islanders. And on Thursday, when the Rangers decided at the last minute to scratch Artemi Panarin, Sheary moved up into Panarin’s spot on the first line, with Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafreniere.
“Obviously, I've coached him for a while. I know his game pretty well,’’ said coach Mike Sullivan, who first coached Sheary with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL in 2015-16. “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.”
An undrafted, 5-8 winger out of UMass, Sheary signed a minor league contract with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton out of college in 2014, then signed a contract with the parent Penguins the next year. He started his second season in the minors, under Sullivan, but when Sullivan got promoted to the Pittsburgh job in midseason, Sheary came up to the big club and was part of the group that won back-to-back Stanley Cups under Sullivan in 2016 and 2017.
Sheary bounced around the NHL for 10 years, playing in Buffalo, Washington and Tampa Bay, with whom he signed a three-year, $6 million deal in 2023. But Tampa Bay demoted him to their AHL affiliate in Syracuse last season, and he spent most of the season there, playing only five NHL games.
He felt he could still play in the NHL, but figured that wouldn’t happen if he returned to Tampa Bay, so Sheary decided to terminate his contract with the Lightning — with a year, and $1.5 million left on it — and become a free agent. When only one NHL team offered him a contract, he passed on that offer and opted for a tryout with the Rangers, and Sullivan, instead.
“I think he's a coach that throughout my career, was one of the guys who appreciated the way I played and how I approach games,’’ Sheary said of Sullivan. “In my situation, I was looking for someone that had that appreciation for me. So I thought it could be a good fit.’’
Notes & quotes: With Panarin scratched, Jonny Brodzinski replaced him in the lineup . . . J.T. Miller (lower body injury) skated on his own with a coach Thursday . . . . Jonathan Quick started in goal . . . D Casey Fitzgerald cleared waivers and was assigned to Hartford.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
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