The Washington Capitals have signed Conor Sheary to a one-year, $735,000 deal. He will be the first player in Capitals history to wear the number 73. The signing comes shortly after the news that Ilya Kovalchuk signed a deal in the KHL. With Kovalchuks departure, the Capitals had an opening in the third/fourth line wing position. The Capitals could have chose to elevate a guy from the Hersey Bears like Daniel Sprong or Brian Pinho to permanently move up but they chose to sign Sheary instead. I actually love this move at the price. Pinho and Sprong might just be on the Taxi Squad.
Both Pinho and Sprong would have had a cap-hit of $725,000 if the Capitals had chose one of them to play full-time on the team next year. Both Sprong and Pinho are arguably ready for a larger role in the pros. However, this Sheary deal is too good of a deal to pass up for Washington.
In 184 games in Pittsburgh from 2015-2018, Sheary posted 48 goals, 45 assists for a total of 93 points over a three year span. 93 points in 184 games is .505 points per game. Sheary’s cap-hit for Pittsburgh was $3 million per year. In his 133 games with Buffalo, Sheary scored 23 goals and 30 assists for a total of 53 points. 53 points in 133 games is .398 points per game. A slight regression from his time in Pittsburgh. A regression is expected when moving from a Stanley Cup squad to a rebuilding franchise like Buffalo. Last year in the eight games he played with Pittsburgh after being traded back, Sheary posted one goal and three assists (.500 points per game). According to sportrac.com, Sheary has always had a $3million net cap-hit while playing for both Pittsburgh and Buffalo. The Capitals are getting Sheary at a 75% discount compared to what he was making previously.
When you compare Sheary’s contract compared to his production, this is a no-brainer investment for the Capitals. Pinho has two NHL games started and he didn’t register a point in limited minutes. In Sprong’s four year NHL career, he has 19 goals and 11 assists over 97 games (.298 points per game.) The most recent NHL sample size we have from Sprong was from 2018-2019 where he scored 14 goals and 5 asissts over 47 games. I honestly thought the Capitals would roll with Sprong this year because of his scoring potential but Sheary brings more balanced and consistent point production. Add on that he has Stanley Cup experience. Again, this was a no-brainer deal for the Capitals.
Sheary will either play on the third-line with Lars Eller at center and his former teammate Carl Hagelin on the opposite wing. OR the Caps will choose to elevate Panik back to the third-line again where Hagelin-Eller-Panik showed spurts of life last season. I believe the Caps will roll Sheary on the third-line. Hagelin-Eller-Sheary and Panik-Dowd-Hathaway sounds way better than Hagelin-Eller-Panik and Sheary-Dowd-Hathaway.
Thoughts on the signing?
In other news, the NHL released schedules for the upcoming season yesterday and I am pumped! 116 days of consecutive hockey starts on January 13th, 2021. That’s 20 days away! All 56 of the Capitals games will be played against division opponents. The “East” Division consists of Washington, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Boston, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Buffalo, and New Jersey. That arguably the toughest of the four divisions. Oh and by the way, the Captials play the Penguins EIGHT TIMES! That is ridiculous and I love it. Let’s go baby!! The division will be tough for sure but the Capitals should be a top three favorite based on Vegas odds to win it.
Random Fact: In 2016 when Tom Wilson was a little more controversial, Wilson targeted Conor Sheary just as he came off for a line-change. This was game one of the 2nd round of the playoffs between the Caps and Pens. Wilson made direct knee on knee contact with Sheary. The controversial hit only led to a $2,400 fine. I will say two things: 1. The hit was dirty. 2. Wilson 2020 (post suspension) is way cleaner than Wilson 2016. Now Wilson and Sheary are teammates.
Thoughts on the division and schedule? Cheers to hockey!!! Ye ye ye
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