November 19, 2008 Forward Chris Neil has been diagnosed with a torn miniscus and is scheduled to undergo surgery on his injured knee on Friday, according to TSN.ca. He is expected to miss at least two weeks recovering.
Our View:Neil had tallied two goals and an assist in 17 games for the Senators. With the injury and the point total, he doesn't hold any fantasy value.
September 24, 2008 The AP reports that Chris Neil scored two goals and the Ottawa Senators beat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-1 on Wednesday night in an exhibition game. Neil scored a power-play goal on Jean-Sebastien Aubin late in the first to tie it at 1. Neil added Ottawa’s third goal when he scored on Maxime Ouellet 8:07 into the third, and fought with Flyers forward Arron Asham with 4:55 remaining.
Our View:Neil racked up 199 minutes in the sin-bin last season and should surpass that mark this year as new coach Craig Hastburg figures to grant Neil more ice-time. It's also conceivable that Neil may deliver up to 30 points with the increased minutes and opportunities.
September 19, 2008 Chris Neil is happy that the team has a new coach in Craig Hastburg as he believes that will allow him to earn a more substantial role with the Senators this season, according to the Ottawa Sun.
Our View:Last season's coaching change from Bryan Murray to John Paddock reduced Neil's ice-time and production, though he still recorded 199 PIM. While it would be a stretch to expect him to score 16 goals as he did in 2005, Neil could return to the double-digit club while producing right around 200 PIM making him a valuable fantasy addition.
