I have a pretty strong aversion to Hemsky. Just doesn't seem like the kind of guy that would help this team come playoff time. He's soff, never shoots, and is a pure rental. Keep the assets and try to find the correct pieces this summer if need be.
I've never really understood the attraction to Hemsky. Just doesn't seem like a fit at all.
He's not the ideal fit but he is a very good rental option if the price is low (which it is).
Also:
As has been mentioned many times before, he's not that soft / is a pretty good player for the whole 200 feet. And he could easily play 3RW too to finally give us scoring depth on that line. And he doesn't need to shoot a lot if he's got good vision and playmaking ability, which he has... because Sid and Kunitz can bury the puck just fine. All he does is open up options for the first line / make them harder to defend. That's assuming we can't get Kesler.
As for pure rental, all depends on how smart we are about clearing deadweight salaries this summer. He could end up being a very important piece of this team the next few years. Sid doesn't need another James Neal, he needs someone who skates well and sees the ice well and can connect on quick passes. Hemsky does all that.
By Bylsma Logic, if we got both guys next year we would have:
Kunitz - Sid - Dupuis
Juice - Geno - Neal
Bennett - Kesler - Hemsky
(that would be a pretty lethal 3rd line / a 2nd line on most teams even misuing Dupuis)
By other logic you could have
Kunitz - Sid - Kesler
Juice - Geno - Neal
Dupuis - FA - Hemsky (also a potentially good third line, depending on who the C is)