Two-time Stanley Cup champion Conor Sheary is headed to the AHL.
Waived by the Tampa Bay Lightning, Sheary cleared NHL waivers on Wednesday and was assigned to the Syracuse Crunch this afternoon.
A favorite of Peter Laviolette’s when he was in Washington, Sheary has not had the same success since signing a three-year, $6 million contract with the Lightning as an unrestricted free agent in 2023.
After registering 3 points (1g, 2a) in his first 13 games with Tampa, Sheary missed over a month due to an upper-body injury he suffered against the Montreal Canadiens on November 7, 2023. The 5-foot-8, 182-pound forward did not regain his past form when he returned, serving as a healthy scratch at times and posting 15 points, including only four goals, in 57 games total during the 2023-24 season. Sheary’s four goals were a career low.
For comparison’s sake, Sheary scored 14, 19, and 15 times, respectively, during his previous three seasons with the Capitals from 2020 through 2023. He received ample ice time from Laviolette and frequently played high up in the lineup with Alex Ovechkin. Sheary’s average ice time during his final season with the Caps was 15:46, the most since his first full season in the NHL with the Penguins during the 2016-17 campaign when he scored a career-high 23 goals.
Sheary’s fortunes had not changed this season, being healthy-scratched in three of the Lightning’s first six games and receiving 11 minutes a night. During his three appearances, Sheary did not record a point and had a plus-minus of minus-two while playing with Michael Eyssimont and Conor Geekie.
At five-on-five, the Lightning struggled mightily with Sheary on the ice, posting a 34.2 expected goals percentage along with negative differentials in goals (2-0), shot attempts (31-22), scoring chances (14-9), and high-danger chances (5-4).
Sheary hasn’t played in the AHL since being a member of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins nine years ago during the 2015-16 season.
Tampa recoups $1.15 million of Sheary’s $2 million cap hit by sending him the Crunch. The winger has two years, including this season, remaining on his contract.
