Written by Graeme Nichols | 08 February 2009

Senators muscle man Chris Neil won't be making the upcoming five-games-in-seven-days road trip starting Wednesday in Buffalo, the club just announced.

The right winger lacerated his right calf when he hit Buffalo Sabres defenceman Teppo Numminen at the end of the second period.

Neil, the Senators' enforcer, will be out indefinitely. ~ Chris Stevenson and Don Brennan, The Ottawa Sun

More important than asking myself why it took two Ottawa Sun staff members to write this piece is my thought that last night's game could possibly have been the last chance that Chris Neil will don an Ottawa Senators uniform. (The more I think about it, the more I can actually envision Chris Stevenson guiding Brennan's hands over the keyboard like a piano teacher.) Even though the time the Sens return from their road trip, we'll be approximately two weeks away from the Trade Deadline. While some may think that this would leave ample room for Neil to play, one only needs to casually glance Bryan Murray's activity last season to realize that he's not shy about making a move before Deadline Day.

As Chris Neil heads toward unrestricted free agency, his future as a Sen is about as secure as that of a boy who's living at Neverland Ranch. With all this uncertainty, I'd hate to think that my last memory of Neil would be of him struggling to get off the ice. Wouldn't it be more fitting to have his last moment spent serving a minor as time expires with the Sens down a goal?

Exactly. Get well soon Neil!

More Campaigning:

Fresh off the return of the Senators theme song comes a Facebook group dedicated to the return of the original Senators jerseys. If you're interested in checking it out, click here. And while you're at it, join the Official Facebook group of The 6th Sens.

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