News broke Sunday afternoon that Conor Sheary and the Pittsburgh Penguins had come to terms on an agreement that will keep the speedy forward in a black and gold uniform until 2020.

The deal is worth $9 million and is a bargain for the production Sheary brings to the table. While injuries have kept the winger off the ice from time to time, his speed and ability to keep up with Sidney Crosby is what makes him so valuable.

Scoring 53 points last season, 23 goals and 30 assists, Sheary has been one of many young players who have blossomed over the past couple of seasons. General manager Jim Rutherford, with this signing, has successfully avoided salary arbitration with his two biggest restricted free agents – the other being Brian Dumoulin.

Now, with these two locked up, where does Rutherford look next? While the departure of players like Marc-Andre Fleury, Chris Kunitz and Nick Bonino would typically create large holes for teams, Pittsburgh still looks fairly solid.

Signing Antti Niemi was a major pickup to backup Matt Murray and the acquistion of Ryan Reaves adds a strong enforcer to the wing. But, there is one position that still has a big question mark hanging above it.

Center Will Be The Center of Attention

Rutherford would realistically be looking to add a center next.

There are a few options that are available for the general manager. First, Rutherford would most likely shop the market looking for a trade partner. It is hard to guess who may be on the shortlist on the Penguins roster, but with his execution, Rutherford will only make a trade if it makes sense.

Though the Penguins only have about $3.2 million in available space there are a number of free agents who could be looked at. Below you can a few players available and the salaries they received last season:

Player 2016-17 Salary Mike Fisher $4,800,000 Chris Kelly $900,000 Mike Ribeiro $3,500,000 Jay McClement $1,100,000 Derek Ryan $1,425,000 Jordan Weal $1,250,000 + $500,000 signing bonus

Matt Cullen has been in continued contact with the team, but don’t expect for Rutherford to wait all offseason. The best case scenario is to get Cullen back in a Penguins uniform, but with only a few months out from the preseason, Rutherford will have to make a move soon.

The final option could be moving Jake Guentzel to center. This is the most unlikely of scenarios. Considering his great success on the wing along side Crosby and Sheary there is only a small chance this happens.

The Penguins general manager has danced around tight cap space and found bargains in almost every signing since taking the reigns of the team. Facing challenges in replacing some of Pittsburgh’s best players Rutherford has done an outstanding job in keeping the roster from last season in tact.

Photo Credit: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

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