Conor Sheary earns Rangers roster spot after impressive training camp

Conor Sheary joined the New York Rangers in training camp on a professional tryout offer, and he did so with the goal of working his way back to the National Hockey League after spending the majority of last season in the AHL. With opening night just over 24 hours away, the Rangers have made their decision.

Sheary signs one-year, two-way contract

Sheary is official an NHLer again, and the Rangers rewarded the veteran Stanley Cup winner for having a sensational training camp.

Per Natural Stat Trick, Sheary posted a 64.47 Corsi for percentage, a 60 goals for percentage, and a 76.69 expected goals for percentage in 51:12 of play at 5v5. The key point here is that it is a very small sample, but these are the type of numbers you'd want to see from an NHL veteran at this time of year. He was a key contributor for the Pittsburgh Penguins when Mike Sullivan coached the squad to a Stanley Cup, and Sheary hopes he can have a similar impact for New York.

Sheary had strong 2024-25 season in AHL

Sheary spent the majority of the 2024-25 season in the American Hockey League with the Syracuse Crunch, and finished the year with 20 goals, 41 assists, and 61 points in 59 games. He skated just five regular season games for the Tampa Bay Lightning, and he failed to record a point.

Sheary's veteran experience only a plus for Rangers

The 5'8", 182-pound winger has appeared in 593 NHL games to date, and in that span has a line of 124-143-267 while averaging 13:56 a night. His most successful season in recent years came during a stint in Washington as Sheary tallied 43 points in 37 games back in 2021-22, and he followed that up with 37 points in 82 games the season after that.

Sheary deserves credit for entering a Rangers camp with players who seemingly had a leg up on him, and he put the work in. The hope is this success can continue into the regular season, and he will get his first crack at proving that on opening night against his former club.