| 26 January 2009
In homage of tomorrow night's game against the New Jersey Devils, I thought I'd play off a blog written by Jeremy Milks that's sure to pull at the heartstrings of any bleeding heart Sens fan. Given the passion that Sens fans have for their team, I think it's important that we recognize that there's quite the variety of opinion out there. That being said, when I read Jeremy's piece that Bryan Murray has to resign Chris Neil for $2.0-2.25 million per year, I made the Renee Zellweger Give Me A Golden Globe Because I Just Ate a Lemon Face and Watch Me Pucker Up Face and then I proceeded to bang my head off of my keyboard ten to twelve times.
Don't let this get lost in translation: I do appreciate Chris Neil and what he does. However, as a fan, I wouldn't refer to him as a vital cog of the team. When Jeremy wrote that Murray had to re-sign Chris Neil? I asked myself, what the fuck for?
Neil is a rare commodity in the NHL. A guy who can fight, play the game well and be a core piece of your leadership group while still in his prime at 30 years old is something that virtually every team is looking for. And he has proven that if he doesn’t have to be the heavyweight enforcer of the team, he can actually put up respectable numbers like he did in 2006 and 2007 with 16 and 12 goals respectively. ~ Jeremy Milks, Black Aces
Ah, fans like Chris Neil because he plays an emotional game in which he skates around, hits people and will occasionally drop the mitts. I get that. However, all of these are characteristics that are completely replaceable. Like Jeremy said, Neil's in his prime but for the past three seasons, his stats have kept regressing. Based on his age, it might be fair to say that Neil's rugged style has started to have an impact on his production. If teams are ready and willing to start a bidding war for Neil on July 1st, now will be the appropriate time to trade him before his stock drops.
I'm not sure what Jeremy was referring to when he vaguely says that Neil plays the game well, but if he's referring to Neil's 2 goals and 4 assists and minus 11 +/- (5th worst on the team), then I'm at a loss for words. Considering Neil has the third lowest average icetime amongst regulars, his glaringly bad +/- looks that much worse. You want to talk intangibles? Check out these situational numbers: Neil averages 3 PK seconds per game and 1:07 of PP time per game. (Translation: he spends a lot of the game stapling his ass to the bench while the more versatile players are doing their thing.)
But come on, even if he's not contributing on the Special Teams or at even strength, at least he's fighting, right? With 12 fighting majors on the season, he has 9 more than his closest teammate -- Cody Bass has 3 in 15 games. Ironically, Bass seems poised to assume Neil's mantle if the Dumb Penalty Face moves on. Take a look at these similarities:
Chris Neil:
38 GP, 2 G, 4 A, -11, 88 hits, 12 fighting majors, 10:47 TOI/G
Cody Bass:
15 GP, 0 G, 0 A, - 2, 25 hits, 3 fighting majors, 5:40 TOI/G
In half the icetime, and in approximately one third the games, Cody Bass actually hits at a rate higher than that of Neil. But perhaps the number that matters most -- salary -- Bass currently earns $513K to Neil's $1.1 million. Given Neil's impending UFA status, that number is likely to exponentially increase. All the more reason to give his spot to the kid.
But what about an intangible that doesn't show up in a boxscore? Like Neil's value as a member of the leadership core? Would you be referring to the leadership core that Coach Hartsburg just collectively threw under the bus in an interview with a writer for The Ottawa Citizen? THAT leadership core?
Also, wouldn't it be nice if this team could have more than just Alfie to boast about playing their whole career in one city? Great teams with tradition like the Montreal Canadiens and the Detroit Red Wings seem to find a way to keep players in town for the duration and Ottawa has a chance to do just that with a handful of its current players.Aside from Saku Koivu (the untradeable Captain who beat cancer), who else has had longevity with the Montreal Canadiens in the modern era? Not even Patrick Roy, arguably the best goalie in the history of hockey, could endure an entire career there. Personally, I think it's unfair to criticize Ottawa for not being loyal to players. Aside from McAmmond, Donovan, Kuba, Auld, and Smith (all non-core players), the rest of the roster is composed of talent who have or will spend the bulk of their career here. Because a number of the core players are locked up long term, there's no reason to lock up a complimentary player like Chris Neil just because he's spent the duration of his career here.
So when Jeremy asks: Why take a chance on losing a valuable commodity like Neil? I'll respond with these answers:
1) He's a third or fourth line player. You can't overpay these guys, regardless of who they are.
2) There's someone in the wings, Bass, who's inexpensive and can replace the aspects of Neil's game.
3) Teams destined for the Playoffs will overvalue and hopefully overpay for Neil's physicality.
4) With Neil expecting a raise and League experts forseeing a drop in the salary cap ceiling, would it be smart to give a regressing player a 100% increase in pay?
What would you do?
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