Senators sign Scott Gomez for remainder of regular season

The Ottawa Senators have signed 36-year-old center Scott Gomez for the remainder of the season.

It’s a one-way contract for a salary-cap hit of $575,000. Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun first reported the news about Gomez. Gomez is not eligible for the playoffs if Ottawa makes it. 

Gomez began the season on a PTO with the St. Louis Blues, but was placed on unconditional waivers after 21 games. With St. Louis he added center depth with one goal and seven assists. But as several players who started the year injured returned to the lineup, Gomez’s role diminished which led to him and St. Louis parting ways.

He thought about retirement, but former Washington Capitals coach Adam Oates, who has done skills work with a bunch of NHL players this year, talked him out of it.

Gomez then signed a tryout contract with the AHL’s Hershey Bears. There he had 24 points in 18 games before exercising his release from the team Monday. Last season, Gomez, a veteran of 1,066 games parlayed a PTO with the New Jersey Devils into a renaissance year with 34 points in 57 games.

“This was a mutual decision agreed upon between Scott and the Hershey Bears,” Bears president and GM Doug Yingst said.  “He could not have been a more motivational and encouraging leader to our younger players, and a mentor for our veteran players.  Scott knows that the door is always open in Hershey for him.”

The move could have to do with the team’s decision to shut down pivot Kyle Turris indefinitely because of an ankle injury.

What can Gomez offer the Senators? The team is trying to stay in the playoff race this season and has 67 points – five behind the last Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. They need a center and he’s one of the few the team could have added at this juncture in the year, following Monday’s trade deadline. 

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper