Senators to retire Chris Neil’s jersey number Feb. 17

A fan favorite is about to join an elusive group in Ottawa Senators history.

The team announced on Tuesday evening that Chris Neil will have his No. 25 raised to the rafters on Feb. 17, 2023, joining Frank Arthur Finnigan, Daniel Alfredsson and Chris Phillips.

Neil is a cult hockey icon in Ottawa, having played his entire 15-game career with the Sens. Neil played in 1,026 career regular season games with 250 points and 2,522 penalty minutes. In 95 playoff games, he had another 19 points and 204 penalty minutes.

Throughout his career, which started in Ottawa in 2001-02, Neil made himself known as one of the league’s most feared enforcers. Hockey Fights lists him as having taken part in 176 of them, starting with fights against Joey Tetarenko and Paul Laus in the first period of his first pre-season game in 2000.

Neil sits 20th all-time in NHL penalty minutes, good for first in Senators history.

“Chris was a team-first player, a physical presence who never backed down from a challenge,” Senators GM Pierre Dorion said. “He earned his place every single day through hard work and dedication; he was the ultimate character player and wore the Senators sweater with as much or more pride than any other player in this team’s history.”