Scott Gomez says he's 'still got the legs' ahead of Senators debut

If you had asked Scott Gomez about the status of his hockey playing future on Tuesday — the day he exercised his released from his tryout with the AHL’s Hershey Bears — he would have been a bit unclear about an answer.

But the Ottawa Senators soon came calling, handing Gomez a hockey lifeline and signing him to a contract for the remainder of the regular season.

“It was a good surprise, let’s put it that way,” Gomez said on about contract.

After an 18-game stint in Hershey, Gomez will be back in an NHL lineup on Thursday night, a little over two months since his final game with the St. Louis Blues. 

Gomez made the Blues following a training camp tryout, but was released at the end of December as the team started to get healthy up front. Two weeks later he signed the PTO with Hershey, with the goal to play in the NHL again. The plan with the Bears was to play through Monday’s trade deadline and see if any teams might be interested in his services. 

Ottawa needed help at center with Kyle Turris shut down for the next while, and with Gomez having produced in the AHL (24 points in 18 games), his veteran presence could help the team as their postseason hopes remain alive for now.

These final 18 games will also serve as a way for Gomez to pass on his years of knowledge to the younger players on the Senators roster.

“If you’re not there to pay back what you learned, you’re in the wrong business,” Gomez said. “To not give back would be a crime.”

Despite an eventful 2015-16 season that’s had its share of ups and downs, Gomez is confident he can still perform at the NHL level and that his 36-year-old body won’t betray him. 

“I wouldn’t be here [if I didn’t have anything left in the tank],” said Gomez. “The thing about hockey is your hands and your head, they just don’t go. The first thing to go on our bodies are our legs. And one thing about it, I’ve still got the legs.”

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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy

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