James Neal

At 37 years old, James Neal has this physical status:

James Neal (born September 3, 1987), also known as The Real Deal, is a professional ice hockey winger for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL).

He was selected in the second round, 33rd overall, by the Dallas Stars in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft while playing junior ice hockey with the Plymouth Whalers of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Neal played with Dallas in 2008–09 during his one-year with the Iowa Stars' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate.

He was drafted to the Pittsburgh Penguins in his third NHL season, where he played four seasons before being traded to the Nashville Predators.

Neal was selected in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft by the Vegas Golden Knights after three seasons with the Predators.

Personal life

Neal has three younger brothers, Michael, Peter, and Nicholas, who also play hockey. Michael was drafted by the Dallas Stars in the fifth round, 149th overall; Peter last played for the Knoxville Ice Bears in the Southern Professional Hockey League in 2014–15 season; and Nicholas last appeared for the Cobourg Cougars of the Ontario Junior Hockey League in 2013–14.

Rebecca is Neal's younger sister. He was on an episode of NHL 36, which followed him for 36 hours in March 2012.

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Playing career

Neal, who was born in Oshawa, began playing minor ice hockey for the Ontario Minor Hockey Association's Eastern AAA League (OMHA) during the Eastern AAA Championships. Whitby competed in the 2001 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. Bob McKenzie, a minor hockey coach, was one of his minor hockey coaches. Peter, his father, was coached by him for the bulk of his minor hockey career. He was selected by the Plymouth Whalers in the third round, 80th overall, of the 2003 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Priority Selection after his midget season. He was affiliated with the Bowmanville Eagles, a Junior A team of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA), for the 2003–04 season before entering the major junior ranks (OHA).

Neal was selected in the second round, 33rd overall, of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Dallas Stars, following his rookie season in the OHL. The Stars returned him to junior, where he scored 21 goals and 58 points with Plymouth in 2005–06. Despite Neal's return to junior after the Stars' 2006 training camp, the club owed him to a three-year entry-level deal in late October 2006. In 2006-07, he scored a career-high 27 goals and 65 points over 45 games. He was chosen to represent the Western Conference in the 2007 OHL All-Star Game, scoring a goal during the season. He also helped Plymouth win the OHL title by scoring the championship winning goal in overtime against the Sudbury Wolves in Game 6. In the Memorial Cup, held in Vancouver, he led all tournament scorers with five goals.

Neal, the Iowa Stars' AHL) affiliate, played for Dallas from 2007 to 2008. He scored 18 goals and 19 assists for 37 points in 62 games. He scored his first NHL goal in his first NHL game against the Columbus Blue Jackets in October 10, 2008. With a two-goal effort against the Minnesota Wild on November 26, 2008, he won his first multi-point NHL game against the Minnesota Wild. Neal's first NHL appearance was a memorable and quick win. After Neal checked Blue Jacket Fedor Tyutin hard into the Columbus defensive zone's corner in the first period, Derick Brassard was charged to a fight by Columbus forward Derick Brassard on December 18, 2008. Neal obliged, resulting in a gash near Brassard's left eye that gave him a big right punch. Brassard called the match off quickly, but later revealed that he dislocated his right shoulder, putting an end to his season. Neal's first NHL hat-trick was scored during a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on December 23, 2008, a 5–2 win. His early season success earned him a spot on the YoungStars roster for the 2008 NHL All-Star Game in Montreal. In a 10–2 victory over the New York Rangers on February 6, 2009, he set a new career record for goals scored by a rookie (not including the franchise's years as the Minnesota North Stars). He finished the year with 24 goals and 37 points.

Neal scored Dallas' first and second goals of the season against the Nashville Predators on October 3, 2009. In his second NHL season, he gained 55 points. Neal signed a two-year contract extension with the Stars worth $2.25 million in the first year and $3.5 million in the second, just days before the 2010–11 season begins.

Neal was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins (along with defenceman Matt Niskanen) in exchange for defenseman Alex Goligoski, leading up to the 2011 trade deadline. Neal scored his first Stanley Cup playoff goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning in double overtime on April 20 to give Pittsburgh a 3–1 series lead.

Neal decided a six-year contract extension on February 19, 2012, just one day after scoring 30 goals for the first time in his career. In an 8–4 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on March 20, 2012, he scored his second hat-trick and first as a Pittsburgh Penguin. In 2011,-12, Neal had a break-out season, scoring 40 goals and 81 points. He scored his first playoff hat-trick against the Ottawa Senators on May 24, 2013.

Neal was traded to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Patric Hörnqvist and Nick Spaling, which occurred on June 27, 2014, during the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. In a 2–0 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on October 17, 2014, he scored his first goal with the Predators.

Neal had an amazing year in 2015-16, scoring 31 goals and 58 points and a new Predators franchise single-season record for plus-minus with +27. Neal was instrumental in the Predators' first Stanley Cup Finals appearance in the 2016-19 season. In the game-deciding Game 6, the Predators defeated Neal's old team, the Pittsburgh Penguins, but lost the series four games to two, Patric Hörnqvist, who was traded for.

Neal was drafted by the Vegas Golden Knights as the Predators' unprotected player on June 21, 2017. Neal has earned a top-line job for the 2017-2018 season after attending the Golden Knights' first training camp.

In a 2–1 victory over the Dallas Stars on October 6, 2017, he scored the franchise's first two goals, assisting the Golden Knights in their debut. Neal had 25 goals and 19 assists in 71 games for the Golden Knights' profitable inaugural season, ranking fourth in goals.

Neal helped the Golden Knights win the Western Conference championship and his second appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals. In 20 games, he scored 6 goals and 11 points before losing to the Washington Capitals in five games.

Neal signed a five-year, $28.75 million deal with the Calgary Flames after leaving Vegas as a free agent on July 2, 2018. Neal was severely disappointed in his Calgary season, only scoring 19 points, less than his lowest single-season goal total on any of his previous teams. He was suspended on several occasions during the year, including being healthy scratched ahead of his first-round match against the Colorado Avalanche.

The Flames traded Neal to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Milan Lucic and a 2020 conditional third-round pick. Both Neal and Lucic had failed to live up to the expectations attached to their previous careers' large salaries, and the trade gave both players a chance to get off to a new kick. Neal scored four goals in a game against the New York Islanders on October 8, 2019, breaking a franchise record for the most goals in the first three games of a season, with six goals. Neal had 11 goals in the month of October 2019 alone.

However, Neal's production came to a halt as the season progressed, as he recovered from injury and his ice time decreased. Neal sustained an ankle injury against the Flames on January 29, 2020, but he failed to score a single goal in the 13 games he played in 2020.

The Flames and Oilers had agreed that if Neal scored at least 21 goals in the 2019-20 NHL season and Lucic scored at least ten goals less than Neal, the Oilers would owe the Flames a third-round draft draft in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. The Flames and Oilers were stuck in a deadlock over how to fix the trade condition after Neal finished with 19 goals (two fewer than the minimum threshold) but was expected to reach 21 if the season came to an end. The NHL ruled on July 31, 2020, the Oilers owed the Flames a third-round draft pick in Edmonton's choice of either the 2020 or 2021 NHL Entry Drafts as a result of a trade deal between the two teams.

The Oilers signed Neal on waivers for the purpose of purchasing out the remaining two years of his deal on July 27, 2021.

Neal had been invited to the St. Louis Blues training camp on a professional tryout contract in 2021 as a free agent over the summer and into the 2021–22 season. Neal has agreed to a one-year deal with the Blues, as announced on October 9. Neal was placed on waivers by St. Louis on January 2, 2022.

Neal was invited to the Columbus Blue Jackets training camp as a free agent in the summer and the 2022-23 season. He was released from his PTO a month later on October 3.

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