The Penguins, who also received a third-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, traded forward Scott Wilson and their fifth-round pick in 2018.
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"[Sheahan is] a heavy guy (6-foot-3, 214 pounds)," Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford said. "He can play against other team's top guys, certainly against the bigger, stronger guys. He's is a proven guy. He dropped off a little bit last year in his production but there's no reason why he can't get that back."
Sheahan who has no points in eight games this season, has 98 points (38 goals, 60 assists) in 292 NHL games, all with Detroit. He had 25 points (14 goals, 11 assists) in 80 games last season and will provide center depth for Pittsburgh, which lost Matt Cullen (Minnesota Wild) and Nick Bonino (Nashville Predators) as free agents this offseason.
"You just look at his overall record and he's done it more than one year," Rutherford said. "He's dropped off the one year, but there's a good sample size there. He's still a young guy (25), he should just be coming into his prime. He's going to play with good players here. I know he's a real good guy, a real good pro. He can strengthen our center-ice position."
Wilson, 25, has no points in three games this season. He had 26 points (eight goals, 18 assists) in 78 games last season, and six points (three goals, three assists) in 20 Stanley Cup Playoff games when the Penguins won the Stanley Cup.
"I was hoping for more last year but of course he came off that (upper-body) injury," Rutherford said. "I thought that he played well. I think he's got a good career ahead of him. But he kind of got caught in the numbers game here without Sheahan in the mix. So if he wasn't going to be in the lineup, it's better to give him a chance. I still believe in him as a player."
Detroit and restricted free agent forward Andreas Athanasiou agreed to a one-year contract on Friday. The Red Wings were about $20,000 under the NHL salary cap of $75 million (according to CapFriendly.com) before trading Sheahan, who has this season remaining at $2.075 million before he can become a restricted free agent. Wilson's cap charge is $625,000.
NHL.com correspondent Corey Long contributed to this report
