Montreal Canadiens: Supposed Interest in Chris Neil

According to Sportsnet‘s Nick Kypreos, the Montreal Canadiens have expressed interest in long-time Ottawa Senators enforcer Chris Neil.

Have you ever noticed a trend, and you try to tell yourself it’s not a trend, but then there’s consistent evidence to prove that it’s a trend. There’s a running gag that many use against the Montreal Canadiens in that they only go after third and fourth liners.

Last season’s trade deadline amplified that gag after the Habs traded for Dwight King, Steve Ott, and Andreas Martinsen. At the time, management believed that the team needed to get bigger. Because of that, those moves could be rationalized to some extent.

Now and over the off-season, the need has been goal-scoring. Jonathan Drouin has already looked pretty good for the Habs so far. Montreal may be counting on bounce back seasons from Brendan Gallagher and Alex Galchenyuk, but perhaps adding another player in wouldn’t hurt.

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Then we learn of some concerning news. According to Sportnet’s Nick Kypreos, the Montreal Canadiens are interested in a winger. That’s nice right, who could it be?

Why? I mean you could break down reasons as to why this could make sense. Chris Neil is a seasoned veteran that hits anything that moves. He’s one of those guys in the league that other players notice, so much so that they “behave” themselves more when their in the line-up.

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If Neil was on the team, you can bet that the Habs younger stars wouldn’t be run as much. On the other hand, if goal-scoring is still the need, adding Neil does absolutely nothing for that. His scoring ability has taken a massive hit over the years. If the Habs end up signing Neil, it’ll just be for his physical touch, that’s it.

That’s not worth a contract or a roster spot. The league is a lot different from how it used to be, and fourth lines aren’t how they used to.

Kypreos is generally a reliable source as an insider. Hopefully he’s wrong on this one. It’s no slight on Neil, but the Montreal Canadiens do not need a player like him on the team. From the responses on Twitter, it looks like the fan base agrees as well.

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Should the Habs sign Neil? Let us know what you think in the comments.