OTTAWA — The Senators are four points out of a playoff spot and seem to be buyers at the trade deadline.
Ottawa acquired winger Ales Hemsky from the Edmonton Oilers three hours before Wednesday’s NHL trade deadline for a third-round pick in this year’s draft and a fifth-rounder in 2015.
Hemsky told reporters in Edmonton he slept fine on the eve of the trade deadline because he figured he would be traded.
“I knew what would happen, I knew I would get traded so I was kind of prepared for that the last four months,” he said.
Senators general manager Bryan Murray said last week he was more interested in trading for a forward with some time left on his contract rather than a rental. Hemsky, 30, is set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Oilers GM Craig MacTavish had been shopping Hemsky dating to this past off-season but could not find a taker until Wednesday.
Hemsky has nine goals and 17 assists in 55 games this season. He joins a Senators team that’s perhaps not the Stanley Cup contender some had thought at the beginning of the year but in the hunt for a playoff spot.
“At least they’re still battling for playoffs and they have a good chance,” Hemsky told reporters in Edmonton. “It will be a good challenge for me. Hopefully I can play with good players and show what I can do.”
Hemsky won’t be playing with winger Cory Conacher, whom the Buffalo Sabres claimed off waivers from Ottawa at noon. He will be a teammate of defenceman Chris Phillips, who signed a US$5-million, two-year contract extension.
Phillips, the Senators’ No. 1 overall pick in 2006, said it was his first preference to re-up in Ottawa rather than go somewhere else at the deadline.