Sheahan led Edmonton Oilers forwards with 2:21 of shorthanded ice time per game on the NHL's No. 2 penalty kill unit last year. With Zemgus Girgensons likely out for the season following successful hamstring surgery, Buffalo will look to players like Sheahan, Tobias Rieder and defenseman Matt Irwin to fill that void and help improve the PK.
"We need players to just do things right. We need pros that can lead by example, whether it's in practice or then during games," Sabres coach Ralph Krueger said after practice Thursday. "I knew in the research we did on Riley that number one, he's an excellent character.
"… It's important that we want people to treat each other right, but also they need to bring something on the ice because good guys aren't going to help us if they don't execute within a role."
Sheahan, 29, recorded 15 points (8+7) in 66 games for the Oilers last season and appeared in four playoff games.
The 6-foot-2, 216-pound forward has skated in 513 games over nine seasons with Edmonton, Florida, Pittsburgh and Detroit. He's posted 164 points (66+98) in that time.
