The Winnipeg Jets added depth on defence ahead of the Feb. 24 NHL trade deadline by acquiring Dylan DeMelo from Ottawa on Tuesday.

Senators general manager Pierre Dorion picked up a third-round pick in this summer’s draft from Jets counterpart Kevin Cheveldayoff, whose team entered Tuesday’s home game against Los Angeles three points back of Arizona for the second wild-card playoff spot in the Western Conference with two games in hand. The Jets have allowed two goals or fewer in each of their last nine games.

The 26-year-old DeMelo from London Ont., has 10 points and a plus-3 rating in 49 games this season, his second with Ottawa.

He is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

“I’m not surprised, when you’re a week out [from the deadline] you kind of see it progressing that way in regards to a trade possibly happening,” DeMelo told Postmedia. “We played [the Jets] recently, it’s a really good team and they’ve got some really good pieces up front with a good goaltender [in Connor Hellebuyck].

Jets’ debut vs. Senators?

“To get to play in some meaningful games down the stretch with a team fighting for a playoff spot with an organization I think very highly of with [head coach] Paul Maurice, is a great opportunity.”

It’s expected DeMelo will meet his new teammates in Ottawa, where the Jets open a four-game road trip on Thursday.

DeMelo has seven goals and 64 points in 259 regular-season games over five seasons with the San Jose Sharks and Senators.

He was part of the Sept. 13, 2018 trade that sent all-star blue-liner Erik Karlsson from Ottawa to San Jose.

Winnipeg placed defenceman Luca Sbisa on injured reserve, which opened a roster spot for DeMelo.

Ottawa, which has seven picks in the first three rounds of the June 26-27 draft in Montreal, including a pair of first-rounders, is out of the playoff picture with a 20-28-11 record.

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