Neil returns in front-office role
One of the toughest players to ever put on the Ottawa Senators’ uniform is returning in an off-ice role.
Five months after announcing his retirement, winger Chris Neil, who suited up for 16 seasons with the Senators, will join former teammate Chris Phillips in a role as Alumni Ambassador.
In his new role, Neil will help Phillips do community outreach across the region.
“We’re delighted to have Chris return to the Senators,” said owner Eugene Melnyk in a statement Wednesday. “One of the most determined and resilient players this franchise has ever known, Chris’s ‘team-first’ mentality and approachable demeanour will serve him well and makes him a perfect fit for an ambassador of the Senators brand.”
Neil, who suited up for 1,026 games with the club, amassed 2,522 career penalty minutes with the Senators. He was a sixth-round pick (No. 161 overall) and had to battle the odds to make the Senators but grew up in the organization and played a huge role here.
Not only did Neil get his job done on the ice, he and wife Caitlin were named the honour co-chairs of Rogers House, a pediatric palliative care centre located at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, in 2011 and they ’ve helped to raise money for the facility.
When the Senators decided not to bring Neil back this season, he studied the possibility of going elsewhere, but decided in the end to hang up his skates so he could take part in the club’s Alumni Game on Parliament Hill as part of outdoor game at Lansdowne Park.