Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

With Sheary signed Penguins can focus on finding center

2017 NHL Stanley Cup Final - Media Day

PITTSBURGH, PA - MAY 28: General Manager Jim Rutherford of the Pittsburgh Penguins answers questions in a press conference during Media Day for the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Final at PPG PAINTS Arena on May 28, 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Getty Images

The Pittsburgh Penguins signed Conor Sheary on Sunday afternoon, successfully avoiding salary arbitration with their two biggest restricted free agents (him and Brian Dumoulin) while also giving themselves more than $3 million in cushion under the salary cap.

Overall it has been a mostly quiet offseason for the Penguins, adding only Ryan Reaves, Matt Hunwick and Antti Niemi to the roster while allowing Nick Bonino, Chris Kunitz and Ron Hainsey to leave via free agency, while also losing goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury in the expansion draft to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Even with those losses the Penguins don’t have many holes on a roster that just completed its second consecutive championship season.

The one hole they do have is finding some center depth down the middle of their lineup following the loss of Bonino and the uncertain future of veteran Matt Cullen. They still have two of the best centers in the league in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin at the top of the lineup, but the depth behind them has taken quite a hit this summer. Bonino and Cullen represented their third-and fourth-line centers the past two seasons (and were mostly excellent in those roles), and with Oscar Sundqvist traded to St. Louis as part of the Reaves deal they still need to do something to address those spots.

With the free agency options almost non-existent (minus Cullen, of course) General manager Jim Rutherford is almost certainly going to have to explore the trade market when it comes to rounding out his roster. He has taken a patient approach to it and doesn’t seem to be in a rush to force a trade. It’s important to keep in mind that he didn’t actually acquire Bonino two years ago until around this point in the summer.

Carter Rowney played well for the Penguins in the postseason when called upon and can play center, but he is probably not what they are looking for on their third line.

Moving Jake Guentzel over to center could also be an option if needed, but it is probably not the ideal move given how successful he was on the wing, especially when playing next to Crosby and Sheary.