Monday debate: Jeff O'Neill

Granted, he did take a year off. He will have some rust. But we're talking about a 32 year old with 237 NHL goals, and almost 500 NHL points. This is not a fringe player who can't puck the puck in the net. If he doesn't have the heart for it? Fine, shake hands and part ways. However, JR would be negligent in his duties to not investigate the possibility of O'Neill having his personal house in order and seeing if he's ready to play hockey. If he is, he's a proven NHL goal scorer that you can sign for the league minimum. Why not kick the tires and see if he has any mileage left in him. When you have a limited budget, you have to look for bargains like this that may or may not work out.

There's no harm in inviting O to camp w/o a contract. If he comes in w/ a good attitude, in good shape, & plays well, we can sign him. If not, we can cut him loose in a heartbeat. We are looking for depth at C, a position O can play. With Sutter an unproven youngster, Cullen's health in question, & Rod a year older coming off reconstructive knee surgery, I think it's not a bad idea to add some experience at this position. For me, it's a can't-lose situation.

He appears to be in shape. He did a lot for the orgaNIzation. This was JR's first pick I believe. He does not have a contract. Let him try out. If it is a bust, so be it. If he makes the squad, he will be a plus for the part time fans who remember him from the past. If Sutter is ready, he will get the spot. If not, maybe O'Neill will. I find it hard to believe he would get more than a 1 yr deal if he did make the team and the door would be open for Sutter again next year.

I for one look forward to sneaking over from work and watching some of camp. Should be interesting.

and plays like he's capable of- then it could be a win-win. If not- well- the Canes gave him a chance.

Hey Esteban & Anonymous, where have you been the past 4 weeks when Luke was posting an open ended question each Monday to spark some debate? That is exactly what Chip did here. Just because he is the new guy doesn't mean that he deserves to be battered. Jeez.....
As for O'Neill, nothing is lost in a tryout invite. I am curious to see what he brings to the squad and think that it will make for a very interesting camp, something that we haven't had in a while. We have had other veteran invites come to camp (Cale Hulse, Jason Wooley, etc) but they didn't have the history with this organization like Jeff does. I personally can't wait to see how it all works out.

Geez tough crowd. Its Monday debate, not Monday listen to the bloggers opinion. Pop a couple Xanax folks... Now that I'm off my soapbox, I think its a smart idea to give Jeff a chance. There have been concerns that Cullen may not be 100 percent or could be just 1 more hit away from another concussion. If so, we could use someone like Jeff. On the other hand, maybe the Canes are still looking at making some trades (Kabs plus a forward?) and Jeff could be used to fill a hole that results. Wish I could get in JR's head for just 5 minutes. Again, we are just giving him a chance, not a multi-year multi-million dollar deal.

1. Chip, why should we give you all the juicey stuff when you are the one who needs to do the job...isn't that what they ( N&O) pay you for ?

2. I can't see Jeff in Albany, it would be the "rats' fault if he spoiled the barrel. But as grandma loved to say, " nothing ventured, nothing gained" !

3. The Canes lose nothing by offering a " tryout"...no more than they'd lose if Chip was invited to camp for a tryout...Hey Chip...you can skate can't you ?...hehehe...

4. If i was able to see both jeff and Sutter on the ice i could get a better idea...but in my gut...I think Sutter needs to go to Albany for a season...unless called up like anyone else do to injuries...If Jeff were to make it...

but i'm old Hockey fan...who can't stand woosies and whimps...When hocky wasn't for the faint of heart and when first line players drove a Chevey and not sports cars or rolling juke boxes & sound machines with engines and 4 wheels on em...Go Rosie...Go Canes !!

The only way this makes sense is if Jeff will accept a 2-way contract, or if he just blows the doors off the RBC during training camp. I am not sure how Jeff would fit in as a 4th line guy, but he'd be a good guy to have around if someone in the top 9 goes down. Having said all of that, there is absolutely no risk in inviting the guy to camp. If he doesn't pan out in camp, nothing is lost. If the Canes do sign him, I'm sure they will not want to further stretch their budget situation (assuming they can't shed some salary elsewhere).

I see this as a 50/50 deal with bringing back O'Neil. In a good way if he gets picked up and sent down to albany we've got a veteran player that can be called up if we need him. If he goes to Albany also the younger players that are wanting to come up and play for the Canes will have to play hard and hungry if O'Neil actually is up to a playing level worthy of him coming back up to the NHL. Plus if he isn't up to team standards no harm no foul cause he never made it back to play in the NHL for the Canes. The bad thing that I can see that could possibly happen is that O'Neil gives a strong performance down in Albany and comes to Raleigh and then just fizzles out and then we are the ones left with egg on our face. But just keep this in mind that around the time of the trade O'Neil had some rough times that messed with his head and had an effect on him. I'm sure with the time he's been away hopefully he's been able to clear his head and get on track. He just needs to remember in the back of his head that this could be his last shot at the NHL so he needs to make the best of a golden opportunity.

One, the organization has not yet offered Jeff a contract, he's coming to camp on a try out basis. Right now the Canes have risked absolutely nothing. If he washes out of camp then the Canes lost nothing and gained the knowledge that Jeff is no longer an NHLer. To me, I can't see how this is bad for the team in any way.

Two, I think he'll be a good influence on the kids in the AHL. This is a guy who scored 40 goals in a season at a time when scoring was down. This is a former all-star. If there's not a better reminder that you have to work hard all day every day to play in the NHL I don't know what it is.

Three, I can't see O'Neill fitting in on the fourth line. He's not a natural center. He doesn't kill penalties like LaRose. He's not going to get a one-way deal like Ryan Bayda. If he's anything, he's a winger on one of the top 3 lines. There's been rumors of Williams being traded for Bieksa + ( could be Williams and Kaberle for Bieksa and a prospect/pick, I don't know) I think the O'Neill experiment is really to see if we can move Williams and improve the defense. Corvo, Pitkanen, Gleason, Bieksa Wallin and Seidenberg isn't a bad group of defensemen. Figure in that Bowman or Dalpe or Boychuk will play in the NHL next year and all you need is one year out of O'Neill to make it work.

This is an attempt to address the problem with depth at the forward position. If he comes in and makes the team, it gives them some depth at forward. We can't count on everyone being in the line-up all season long. Who knows how Matt Cullen is doing. Can Ray play an entire season? We might have people at Albany, but are they goal scorers on a consistent level in the NHL? These are all questions that need to be addressed and by bringing Jeff in for a look see is a step. I would also like to see Kevyn get a shot as well.

i would say he just adds another new face that has to get used to our system.

the fewer the better.
are we forgetting that we have great forwards.

I would really like to see Sutter on the team this year-- if he's ready-- looked like he was at prospect camp..
Maybe Jeff looks good at camp maybe he can get another job elsewhere. I'm not sure I want him down in Albany hanging out with our young river rats. It's good of Mr. Rutherford to give O'Neil another chance though and says a lot for our organization. Hopefully things will turn out good for both the Canes and O'Neil. there is a chance he could turn into a Darren McCarty and he could be a later in the season addition around the trade deadline or something like that should we have the need for him, but for now I'm not sure I'm a huge fan of this training camp invitation.

I am hoping to hear that this is a really really bad joke. Seems like Jeff's "I'll stand over here and wait for something to happen" style of play is not what we need right now. On the other hand, there is some entertainment value to having a guy who loves wearing fur and capris back to mix things up in Raleigh. Would be a good mascot. Look out Stormy.