It looks like the Connor Sheary Era in Tampa is over. According to reports, the veteran forward and the Tampa Bay Lightning have agreed to terminate his contract. He was placed on waivers today, and once he clears, he will be an unrestricted free agent. The final year of his 3-year, $6 million contact will disappear from the Lightning’s cap.
Sheary’s tenure in Tampa didn’t go as he, or Julien BriseBois had imagined it. Signed back in the summer of 2023 with the hopes that he could add some scoring depth to the middle-six, the 32-year-old never quite found his role with the Lightning. A hand injury in 2023 limited his production and he finished the season with 15 points (4 goals, 11 assists) in 57 games. Last season, he only appeared in 5 games without recording a point as the Lightning opted to go with younger players throughout the season.
Ever the consummate professional, Sheary accepted his assignment to the AHL and posted 61 points (20 goals, 41 assists) in 59 games, helping to drag the Syracuse Crunch to a playoff spot. Apparently, the plan for the Lightning would be to have him in the AHL again this season, a move that would allow them to bury $1.15 million of his $2 million cap hit.
Rather than that, he agreed to terminate the remainder of the deal in order to have a shot at signing with another franchise and earning a NHL roster spot. Sheary will likely sign a deal a little closer to the league minimum as he looks to build back his value at the NHL level.
Removing the $2 million cap hit gives the Lightning a little more freedom to make some moves. CapWages has them at $5.48 million under the cap once his salary is cleared off of the books. That should allow them to sign Gage Goncalves to a decent bridge deal while giving them a little bit of cap space to do some minor tinkering on July 1. Based on what Mr. BriseBois has said over recent days, it’s unlikely that the Lightning aren’t going to make any splashy deals (a la Jake Guentzel last season), but might look to bring in some veteran depth to help plug up some spots on the roster.
