from Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun,

It seems longer than seven years ago that the Senators made their one and only trip to the Stanley Cup finals, just as most times it looks like it will be a lot longer than that before they will get there again.

Don't try telling that to Chris Neil, though. The 34-year old veteran with so many hard miles still believes in the team's chances of getting back to the big stage before he retires.

"That's the plan," Neil said just before the Christmas break. "You look around the room, and we've got the pieces here. It's just a matter of fine tuning it."

A less optimistic opinion is that the Senators are still a handful of pieces away from getting there any time soon. Some say they don't have enough to even make the playoffs this season -- despite the fact they are 1-0 against both the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins, the two best teams in the conference.

But even without additions, the Senators can make it to the 2014 post-season tournament, if only because the current wildcard holders (Red Wings and Leafs) have their own issues, as do the teams (Rangers and Devils) between Ottawa and the cut-off line.

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