Sheary Avoids His Hearing

The last big item on the champ's to-do list can now be checked off, as the Pittsburgh Penguins and Conor Sheary have agreed to terms on Sunday.  The 25-year old forward signed a new 3-year, $9 million deal, well ahead of his August 4th arbitration hearing.

The previously undrafted forward has really appeared out of nowhere in the last couple of seasons and has really made his mark with the two-time defending Cup champs and his second season, this past one in 2017, has so far been his best, playing in 61 games and picking up 23 goals and 53 points.

In terms of the rankings, Sheary finished 96th overall and 71st among all forwards, which is better than anyone that is currently on the Colorado Avalanche roster today.

Sheary's contributions in the playoffs have probably made him more notable than anything, 10 points in 23 games in 2016 and then 7 points in 22 games in the last run.  It sure helps when you have a linemate like Sidney Crosby to help you out.

Forwards	Cap	Defense	Cap	Goalies	Cap
Evgeni Malkin	9.500	Kris Letang	7.250	Matt Murray	3.750
Sidney Crosby	8.700	Justin Schultz	5.500	Tristan Jarry	0.631
Phil Kessel	6.800	Brian Dumoulin	4.100
Patric Hornqvist	4.250	Olli Maatta	4.083
Carl Hagelin	4.000	Matt Hunwick	2.250
Conor Sheary	3.000	Ian Cole	2.100
Ryan Reaves	1.125	Derrick Pouliot	0.800
Jake Guentzel	0.734
Dominik Simon	0.693
Josh Archibald	0.675
Bryan Rust	0.640
Scott Wilson	0.625
Tom Kuhnhackl	0.625
Carter Rowney	0.613

The Pittsburgh Penguins are not in terrible shape, ahead of the 2018 season, as their current projected roster is still $2.5 million clear of the salary cap ceiling.  There are definitely some bubble players on that projected roster, players that could slide down and that can be ousted by someone working a little bit harder, but their talent waiting in the wings are not exactly costly either.

The only thing I can see standing in the way of another big season for the Penguins is their own health.  Their big stars are all on the injury prone list and their depth will certainly be tested throughout the season, but the longer they can stay healthy, the better this team can finish at the end of the regular season and we all know how they can turn it on in the playoffs.