James Neal Earns Extension After Scoring 30th

James Neal clearly fits in with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Following a troubling 20-game stint last season in which the 24-year-old only mustered one goal, he has clearly bounced back. Yesterday, Neal sealed his fate with an important goal in the Pens 6-4 victory over the rival Philadelphia Flyers. That goal would turn out to be his 30th, solidifying what has already been a career season.

When the Penguins acquired Neal, they knew what they were getting — a natural goal scorer. The question was when, opposed to if, the goals will pile up. After scoring 24, 27, and 22 over his first three seasons, Neal has finally broken the 30-goal plateau with 24 tilts remaining in the regular season. At this point, 40 goals is certainly not out of reach; neither is league-wide recognition as an elite scorer.

Despite Neal scoring 13 of his 30 with the man advantage, his production at even strength is near elite as well. By filtering out forwards who play at least 13 minutes at even strength per game, Neal ranks in the top 30, putting him with some very important company.

The below table shows the details of how he stacks up to other top-line forwards.

Obviously the claim could be made that his statistics are greatly boosted by playing with Evgeni Malkin — which they are — but so are those of Chris Kunitz, who is not having nearly the same year.

For those of you concerned about the Penguins trading Neal, Will DePaoli of Inside Pittsburgh Sports is all over the details. Neal’s no trade clause will kick in after he turns 27 but it will be limited to eight teams. However, we don’t think Neal is going anywhere, anytime soon.

And for that reason, fantasy hockey GMs, you should feel confident drafting this power forward for years.