By Nick Veronica | @NickVeroinca

The Buffalo Sabres have picked up Canisius grad Cory Conacher, who was waived Tuesday by the Ottawa Senators.

Conacher, a small, hard-working winger, has 20 points in 60 games this season but only four goals, which may have been part of the reason Ottawa let him go. His ice time has declined to 12:18 per game.

Sabres general manager Tim Murray came from Ottawa, so he has first-hand knowledge of what Conacher, 24, can or cannot bring to the club. The Sabres were first in line on the waiver claim list because they are last in the standings.

While Conacher’s scoring is down from last season (he had 11 goals, 18 assists in 47 games last year), he possession numbers are better.

His Corsi For Percentage (or CF%, the percentage of shots taken while he’s on the ice in 5-on-5 situations that are directed at the opponent’s net) is up to 53.2 percent this season, much better than his 46.7 percentage last season. Additionally, Conacher’s PDO (team’s shooting percentage plus save percentage at 5-on-5 while he’s on the ice; league average is theoretically 100.0) stands at 102.1, up from 95.6 a year ago.

The Sabres are Conacher’s third team in two NHL seasons, but the Burlington, Ontario native has to be excited to play for a near-hometown team, even if Ottawa was in the playoff hunt.

Conacher is a on a two-way contract and becomes a restricted free agent after this season. He was the AHL MVP and Rookie of the Year in 2011-12.

Conacher starred collegiately for Canisius College — which will play its home games at the Sabres’ HarborCenter beginning next season — and owned nearly every program when he left.

Pretty much anything else you could want to know about Conacher’s NHL career can be found here.