As I expected (and I am not alone in that), it was announced yesterday that long-time Senators forward Chris Neil will not be back with the Senators, as they agreed to part ways.
Neil feels like he still wants to play and will be looking for a spot elsewhere, but the Senators felt it was time to move on from the rugged winger, and to allow him to pursue a team where he might get more than four or five minutes per game.
Neil was rarely the biggest dog in the fight, but carved out a pretty solid career by never backing down from a battle and always being there to stand up for his teammates.
At one point in time, he was the poster boy for the league moving away from the pure goon to a guy that can handle himself with the gloves off, but also contribute by playing a regular shift as well. Those times are gone, and the writing was pretty much on the wall when he suited up for just 2 playoff games against the Rangers during the Senators' deep playoff run, playing less than 5 minutes in total. He was credited by his teammates for providing a spark, and that may be so, but his real contribution was negligible, amassing 12 penalty minutes in one altercation with Tanner Glass.
Recent down-turn aside, a player playing 1,026 games the way he played them (over 2,500 PIMs) is quite an accomplishment for anyone, let alone doing that all with the same team, which is even more impressive.
Part of me hopes he can catch on with another team if that is what he wants, while another part of me thinks it would be almost as weird seeing him in another uniform as it was Daniel Alfredsson or Jason Spezza in recent years.
Anyway, to Chris Neil I thank you for the years you gave your heart and soul, not to mention blood, sweat and tears to the Senators and their fans.
Ottawa Senators Blogger • 
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