The New York Rangers have had their fair share of useful veteran bottom six wingers throughout the years. Think of the likes of Jimmy Vesey, Sean Avery, Ruslan Fedotenko, Benoit Pouliot, and now supposedly Conor Sheary. While some were better than others, the idea was always to have a player in a clear role providing value in a space where whatever prospects were in the system weren’t ready for. More often than not, it was the right decision and it worked.
Currently, Conor Sheary has a permanent residency in the Rangers top nine. Sheary has not yet been scratched, and has actually seen promotions rather than any demotions in the lineup. Sheary, a former Pittsburgh Penguins Stanley Cup champion (a team coached by current Rangers coach Mike Sullivan) was all but discarded by his last team, the Tampa Bay Lightning. If there was ever a definition of a player who was seeing their NHL career end one day at a time, it would be 2025 Conor Sheary.
Yet rather than the Rangers push the issue with Sheary, the winger continues to get opportunities. Sheary, he of zero goals and five assists on the season, has not looked dangerous at all. He has been a poor fit on every line he’s played on, he looks unable to keep up with the NHL pace, and he has provided zero moments that have made fans think he’s worthy of a roster spot.
Still, Conor Sheary keeps on playing, likely because of his motor and work ethic on the ice. This is emblematic of a larger problem in the NHL. When a coach knows and trusts a player, it doesn’t quite matter how they play. Mike Sullivan is a terrific coach, but he is clearly not immune to this issue. Sheary has provided nothing to the Rangers organization, but because Sullivan trusts him, Sheary receives ice time over the likes of Gabe Perreault, Brett Berard, and even Dylan Roobreck.
Another issue here is that the Rangers are clearly a team in desperate need of developing young players. The mere fact that Conor Sheary is occupying a roster spot is highly concerning for an organization that has plenty of bottom six candidates under the age of 25.
Prior to The Letter back in the Jeff Gorton era, the Rangers appeared to be a franchise who refused to believe their own shortcomings. Then The Letter came, the Rangers completed their “rebuild,” and things seemed better.
Now Chris Drury appears to be in the same boat that Gorton was back then, and he is failing the same test. Rather than young players getting the chance to learn their NHL games, the Rangers are acting like a team that needs mistake-free players so they can jockey for the best playoff spot.
Besides that the Rangers have no chance of winning the Stanley Cup this season, they also kept their draft pick rather than their pick in last offseason’s draft with the understanding they might need to take a step back.
In a perfect world, Conor Sheary would be removed from the roster, and the Rangers would understand they have young players to develop. It’s not typically a perfect world in Rangersland.
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