Narrator: he didn't.Extremely confident are the words. Btw don't get too caried away by Smith- although I am happy for him. If you like Neal, his play, his contract satisfies you- I am happy for you too. He might get some good looks tonight
Player Discussion James “The Real Deal” Neal a Flame! 5 years, 28.75 million.
- Thread starter Thumper17
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1989
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- Aug 3, 2010
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Starting to realize that we don't need James Neal for his goal scoring, we need him to reach the Stanley Cup Finals.
Starting to realize that we don't need James Neal for his goal scoring, we need him to reach the Stanley Cup Finals.
and end his finals losing streak
Wouldn't calling him wrong on Smith also be jumping to an early conclusion?
Neal has not been worth his contract at all.
Dertell
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- Jul 14, 2015
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He's not just snake bitten.
Even if he shot goals on his average shooting%, he'd still have a dreadful 5v5 1.9 GF/60 and be on pace for a 30 points year. For reference, the league average is 2.5 Goals per hour at full strength and the flames without him on the ice are scoring ~2.9 goals per hour.
Even if he shot goals on his average shooting%, he'd still have a dreadful 5v5 1.9 GF/60 and be on pace for a 30 points year. For reference, the league average is 2.5 Goals per hour at full strength and the flames without him on the ice are scoring ~2.9 goals per hour.
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Nanuuk
Registered User
It is easy to jump on a player and its usually because the perceived value doesn't match the salary the player has signed for. Sure, Neal hasn't floored anyone with his scoring prowess this season. That doesn't mean he'd a dud. As a pro he should be able to overcome challenges right? As a person it sometimes takes a while.
You can call these excuses or not, but eventually all will be overcome.
1. Played in the last two Stanley Cup Finals, as into June
2. Relocated his family to a new home and new schools
3. Joins a new team where he was thought to be the automatic 1RW. No one really figured Lindolm would get a lock on the job and Neal has had a revolving door of line mates. Playing on the 2 line didn't work because Backlund isn't an elite play maker in my opinion. That and the chemistry wasn't there. Playing on the 3 line is starting to work for him, but again Peters keeps rotating C's between the 3 and 4 lines. It is only recently that Neal has started to play better with Jankowski and Mangiapane as his mates.
4. New stick. For whatever reason, he hasn't adapted well to his new stick. I'd like to think its shouldn't take that long and I don't think he's ever used it as an excuse, but it is an intangible.
The other thing that folks forget about is that Neal was also brought in for his leadership. Leadership can be measured in any number of ways. Not giving up is one even if you're not matching your previous outputs. Having that Stanley Cup run experience to share during the play-offs will be another.
You can call these excuses or not, but eventually all will be overcome.
1. Played in the last two Stanley Cup Finals, as into June
2. Relocated his family to a new home and new schools
3. Joins a new team where he was thought to be the automatic 1RW. No one really figured Lindolm would get a lock on the job and Neal has had a revolving door of line mates. Playing on the 2 line didn't work because Backlund isn't an elite play maker in my opinion. That and the chemistry wasn't there. Playing on the 3 line is starting to work for him, but again Peters keeps rotating C's between the 3 and 4 lines. It is only recently that Neal has started to play better with Jankowski and Mangiapane as his mates.
4. New stick. For whatever reason, he hasn't adapted well to his new stick. I'd like to think its shouldn't take that long and I don't think he's ever used it as an excuse, but it is an intangible.
The other thing that folks forget about is that Neal was also brought in for his leadership. Leadership can be measured in any number of ways. Not giving up is one even if you're not matching your previous outputs. Having that Stanley Cup run experience to share during the play-offs will be another.
joescores
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- Mar 21, 2011
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2023FriendshipTour
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It's really looking like this will be a bad contract.. He's pretty slow and we are a fairly fast team. He's even playing Janks and stuff, which you would think would be his ideal line, as that line is more about cycling. Would be nice to see him get going.. Maybe throw him with Backlund and Chucky? But then he has been awful defensively 
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joescores
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I believe you are a nice person but I couldn't pass the third sentence
That was just too much for me. I just categorically despise the fact some people believe that he can somehow telepathically visit his second year of Pittsburgh era.
Nanuuk
Registered User
I never said that, but ok. We'll see. Even one bad year doesn't mean he's a dud. He's earned his stripes so I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt.
Flames Fanatic
Mediocre
I believe you are a nice person but I couldn't pass the third sentence
I don't see how you read that people think he's going to hit his prime again magically (his pittsburgh season you reference) from his post.
What most of us are hoping for is 20-20-40 at minimum.
joescores
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For 6 mil a season? That's not good enough- I am sorry. Trade him with Stone when healthy I say. Some managers might believe he really "didn't click" in Calgary. A magician could do this (call me- press *).
Flames Fanatic
Mediocre
So you ignore that part about you pulling a strawman from thin air on someone's post?
joescores
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Where did he say what you claimed he did about Neal's second year in Pittsburgh? Where did he even come CLOSE to saying that?
That's not sugar coating? That's just you making things up.
I'm by and large giving Neal a pass until he consistently plays with someone better than Derek Ryan.
Neal is what he has always been, which is to say, a high end complementary player. He's not going to go out and score 50+ points or what have you from the third line with Matt Stajan 2.0 as his centre. He needs a better talent to help him get his looks.
And so the real problem, for me anyway, is Derek Ryan. That's not to say he's been especially bad or anything, it's just that, he's Matt Stajan 2.0. A soft middleman neither talented enough to be a scorer in the top six nor built to carry a shutdown line in the bottom six. Simply put, he's no insurance for when Backlund or Monahan are injured. And that's a problem in an 82 game league plus potentially long playoff runs.
So either Jankowski steps up in a big way or the Flames trade him or Ryan for a third line upgrade, namely a centreman that can carry a third line but also step up into the top six if necessary. Oh, and has to be cost effective too. And unfortunately, there aren't really any good options available out there. Carter is old and rapidly declining. Duchene is the single most overrated player now that Nash is retired. Schenn would cost too much, both in acquiring him and retaining him. I would do Ryan for Brassard though. Treliving probably wouldn't though.
Neal is what he has always been, which is to say, a high end complementary player. He's not going to go out and score 50+ points or what have you from the third line with Matt Stajan 2.0 as his centre. He needs a better talent to help him get his looks.
And so the real problem, for me anyway, is Derek Ryan. That's not to say he's been especially bad or anything, it's just that, he's Matt Stajan 2.0. A soft middleman neither talented enough to be a scorer in the top six nor built to carry a shutdown line in the bottom six. Simply put, he's no insurance for when Backlund or Monahan are injured. And that's a problem in an 82 game league plus potentially long playoff runs.
So either Jankowski steps up in a big way or the Flames trade him or Ryan for a third line upgrade, namely a centreman that can carry a third line but also step up into the top six if necessary. Oh, and has to be cost effective too. And unfortunately, there aren't really any good options available out there. Carter is old and rapidly declining. Duchene is the single most overrated player now that Nash is retired. Schenn would cost too much, both in acquiring him and retaining him. I would do Ryan for Brassard though. Treliving probably wouldn't though.
Flames Fanatic
Mediocre
I guess you are missing the key element of my reaction." That doesn't mean he'd a dud" this part is a stumbling block for me. So just shared. U should know better
He still didn't do what you claimed he was doing. Not a dud =/= Prime Pittsburgh Neal
