With less than a month before the NHL trade deadline, Chris Neil knows that his name will be mentioned with a lot of rumours surrounding the Ottawa Senators.

"It's definitely flattering to have other teams show interest in me, especially with the frustrating season we've had so far," Neil said on Thursday morning. "But I try not to pay attention to that kind of stuff."

The 29-year-old is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st and if he doesn't come to terms on a new contract with the Senators in the next few weeks, he will likely be traded at the March 4th deadline. On Thursday, Senators general manager Bryan Murray acknowledged that he's been in contact twice with Neil's camp about a new contract, but the two sides are not close to a new deal.

"He is not on the market at this point. Obviously, I have to get a contract done with him," Murray said. "Those are the decisions we have to make with each and every player that becomes unrestricted. I would like - if he is not going to agree to terms with us - that I would get something for him."

Even though the two sides are not remotely close to signing a new contract, Murray remains optimistic that a deal can be worked out in the next few weeks. As for Neil, he stated that his desire is to remain in Ottawa, where he has played his entire seven-year career.

"If it's not meant to be, then I'll move on," admitted Neil, who leads the team with 127 PIM this season. "But for the most part, my heart is in it here and this is where I want to be.

If Bryan (Murray) wants to get a hold of him, I'm sure he'll get a hold of him. It's one of those things where I just got to go out and play and not worry about that stuff."

The Senators general manager understands that he is now under the microscope with the team sitting in 13th place in the Eastern Conference. After signing the likes of Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza, Mike Fisher and Daniel Alfredsson to long-term contracts, Murray says he needs to evaluate which members of the team he wants to keep going forward. At the end of this season, Neil, Filip Kuba and Dean McAmmond are set to become unrestricted free agents.

"Those are the decisions that are being made. It's like some of the contracts that I've made and we are getting second-guessed now. You don't have to sign them. If they ask for too much, you just let them go," explained Murray. "But you have to try and keep your best assets. Chris is one of the strong guys on our team, he's been in Ottawa for a long time, I think he's a good guy, I think he plays the game hard and cares about this team a great deal."