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Capitals re-sign Conor Sheary to two-year, $3 million extension

By Ian Oland

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April 14, 2021 4:03 pm

The Washington Capitals have inked another contract extension with a player not named Alex Ovechkin.

Wednesday, the Capitals re-signed Conor Sheary to a two-year, $3 million deal worth $1.5M per season.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report the deal.

Sheary, a plucky, hardworking forward, has 19 points (11g, 8a) in 40 games this season. The middle-six winger has a somewhat absurd shooting percentage, connecting on 11 of his 55 shots this season (20 percent). He carved out a big role for himself on the team after being a healthy scratch early in the season.

This graph, from HockeyViz, shows how Sheary’s role grew with more ice time, just as Richard Panik’s ice time declined.

Before the season, Sheary signed a one-year deal worth $735,000.

He is the shortest player on the team.

Here’s the full press release from the Capitals:

Capitals Re-sign Forward Conor Sheary

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals have re-signed forward Conor Sheary to a two-year, $3 million contract, senior vice president and general manager Brian MacLellan announced today.

Sheary, 28, has recorded 19 points (11g, 8a) in 40 games with the Capitals this season, tied for fourth on the team in goals. The 5’9”, 178-pound forward would be on pace to score 22 goals over an 82-game season, which would mark the second time in his career he would reach the 20-goal mark in a season (2016-17: 23g with the Pittsburgh Penguins). The Winchester, Mass., native ranks eighth in the NHL among players with at least 40 games played with 1.26 goals per 60 minutes of five-on-five play, and 10 of his 11 goals have come at five-on-five.

In 365 career regular season games with the Capitals, Penguins and Buffalo Sabres, Sheary has 169 points (83g, 86a).

Sheary recorded 23 points (10g, 13a) in 63 games with the Penguins and the Sabres during the 2019-20 season. Sheary was tied for sixth among Buffalo forwards with 19 points (9g, 10a) before being traded to Pittsburgh on Feb. 24.

A two-time Stanley Cup champion with Pittsburgh (2016 and 2017), Sheary has recorded 21 points (6g, 15a) in 61 playoff games. Since making his playoff debut in 2016, Sheary’s 61 playoff games are tied for 21st in the NHL among forwards. During Pittsburgh’s 2016 Stanley Cup Final against the San Jose Sharks, Sheary scored the overtime goal in Game 2, becoming the first rookie to score an overtime goal in a Stanley Cup Final since Montreal Canadien Brian Skrudland in the 1986 Stanley Cup Final.

Sheary played four seasons at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst from 2010-14, recording 104 points (38g, 66a) in 138 games, finishing his collegiate career seventh in school history in assists and points.

An undrafted free agent, Sheary signed as a free agent with Pittsburgh on July 1, 2015.

Screenshot courtesy of NBC Sports Washington

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