NHL Free Agency: Grading the Penguins’ signings

Penguins trade Conor Sheary and Matt Hunwick to Buffalo Sabres

After re-signing some of its key contributors and one from its glory days, the Penguins decided to part ways with forward Conor Sheary and defenseman Matt Hunwick in a trade with the Buffalo Sabres and, notably, Sabres GM and former Penguins Assistant GM Jason Botterill.

The Penguins received a conditional fourth-round 2019 draft pick that has the potential of becoming a third-round selection. More importantly, they saved $5.5 million in cap space by dumping Sheary and Hunwick’s contracts, a boon right before free agency opened.

Nobody in Pittsburgh will miss Hunwick. Literally nobody. He was terrible all year for the Penguins and somehow seemed to always be the culprit in any egregious defensive blunder the team committed. Rutherford probably personally drove him to the airport to ensure he got on the plane to Buffalo.

The Sheary departure is a little more bittersweet. He was another player who helped the Penguins win two Stanley Cups, accomplishments that were certainly not lost on Botterill. His 2017-18 season was a statistical regression from previous outputs, and there is an argument to be made that his success was mostly a product of playing on the same line as Crosby for much of his time in Pittsburgh.

Sheary will be missed, but neither he nor Hunwick were important enough cogs in the Penguins machine to make much of a difference going forward. Plus, the Penguins created a decent chunk of cap space to spend on free agents to theoretically reinforce their lackluster defense. Well, that was the hope at least…

Grade: B