James Neal (born September 3, 1987) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger. He played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Dallas Stars, Pittsburgh Penguins, Nashville Predators, Vegas Golden Knights, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, and St. Louis Blues.
While playing junior ice hockey with the Plymouth Whalers of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), he was selected in the second round, 33rd overall, by the Dallas Stars in the 2005 NHL entry draft. After one season with the Stars' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Iowa Stars, Neal played his NHL rookie year with Dallas in 2008–09. During his third NHL season, he was traded to the Penguins, where he played four seasons before being traded to the Predators.
After three seasons with the Predators, Neal was selected in the 2017 NHL expansion draft by the Golden Knights. A free agent after one year in Vegas, Neal signed with the Flames in July 2018 before being traded to the Edmonton Oilers just over a year later, where he played two seasons.
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Playing career
Minor
Neal started in the CYO in Oshawa, and grew up playing minor ice hockey for the Whitby Wildcats of the Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA)'s Eastern AAA League. He played in the 2001 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with Whitby. Among his minor hockey coaches was NHL and TSN broadcaster Bob McKenzie. His father, Peter, coached him for the major part of his minor hockey career. After his midget season, he was selected by the Plymouth Whalers in the third round, 80th overall, of the 2003 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Priority Selection. Before joining the major junior ranks, he was assigned to the Bowmanville Eagles, a Junior A club of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA), for the 2003–04 season.
Junior
Following his rookie season in the OHL, Neal was selected in the second round, 33rd overall, of the 2005 NHL entry draft by the Dallas Stars. Competing in his first NHL training camp, the Stars returned him to junior, where he recorded 21 goals and 58 points with Plymouth in 2005–06. Although Neal was returned to junior following the Stars' 2006 training camp, he was signed by the club to a three-year, entry-level contract in late October 2006. He recorded a junior career-high 27 goals and 65 points over 45 games in 2006–07. During the season, he was chosen to represent the Western Conference in the 2007 OHL All-Star Game and scored a goal. He also helped Plymouth win the OHL title, scoring the championship winning goal in overtime in Game 6 against the Sudbury Wolves. He led all tournament scorers with five goals in the Memorial Cup, held in Vancouver.
Professional
After turning professional for the 2007–08 season, Neal played with Dallas' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Iowa Stars. In 62 games, he scored 18 goals and 19 assists for 37 points. The next season, 2008–09, he scored his first career NHL goal in his first NHL game on October 10, 2008, against Pascal Leclaire of the Columbus Blue Jackets. His first multi-point NHL game came on November 26, 2008, with a two-goal effort against the Minnesota Wild. Famously, Neal's first NHL fight proved to be a memorable and quick victory. On December 18, 2008, he was challenged to a fight by Columbus forward Derick Brassard after Neal checked Blue Jacket Fedor Tyutin hard into the corner of the Columbus defensive zone in the first period. Neal obliged, and produced a gash near Brassard's left eye with a powerful right punch. Brassard quickly called the fight off, where it was later disclosed that he had dislocated his right shoulder which ended his season. Five days later, Neal scored his first NHL hat-trick during a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on December 23, 2008, in an 8–2 win. His early season performance led to a nomination to the YoungStars roster for the 2008 NHL All-Star Game in Montreal. He also broke the Stars' team record for goals scored by a rookie (not including the franchise's years as the Minnesota North Stars), surpassing Jussi Jokinen's record of 17 goals set in 2005–06, in a 10–2 rout of the New York Rangers on February 6, 2009. He completed the campaign with 24 goals and 37 points.
In the Stars' 2009–10 season opener, on October 3, 2009, Neal recorded Dallas' first and second goals of the season against the Nashville Predators. He improved to 55 points in his second NHL season. On September 16, 2010, just prior to the commencement of the 2010–11 season, 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.
Leading up to the 2011 trade deadline, on February 21, Neal was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins (along with defenceman Matt Niskanen) in exchange for defenceman Alex Goligoski. Neal scored his first career Stanley Cup playoff goal on April 20 against the Tampa Bay Lightning in double overtime to give Pittsburgh a 3–1 series lead.
On February 19, 2012, one day after scoring 30 goals for the first time in his career, Neal signed a six-year contract extension with an average annual value of $5 million. He scored his second career hat-trick, and first as a Pittsburgh Penguin, in an 8–4 win against the Winnipeg Jets on March 20, 2012. Neal had a break-out season in 2011–12, finishing with 40 goals and 41 assists for 81 points in 80 games. The 40 goals scored was second on the Penguins (only behind the 50 from teammate Evgeni Malkin) and fourth in the league overall (behind Marian Gaborik’s 41 goals, Evgeni Malkin’s 50 goals and the league-leading 60 goals by Steven Stamkos, respectively.
International play
In the 2006 off-season, Neal was invited to the Canadian national junior team's summer evaluation camp. His physical presence and hard-hitting impressed Canada's coaches, and he was brought back to the team's selection camp in December 2006. His play earned him a spot on the club for the 2007 World Junior Championships in Sweden, where he helped Canada to a gold medal. Two years later, Neal moved on to Canada's men's team for the 2009 IIHF World Championship in Switzerland. He scored three points in as many contests, helping Canada to a silver medal finish in the tournament. In 2011, he again represented Canada at the 2011 IIHF World Championship in Slovakia.
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, of the 2007 NHL entry draft; Peter last played with the Knoxville Ice Bears in the Southern Professional Hockey League in 2014–15 season; and Nicholas last played for the Cobourg Cougars of the Ontario Junior Hockey League in 2013–14.
Neal also has a younger sister named Rebecca. In March 2012, he was featured on an episode of NHL 36, which followed him for 36 hours.