Flames needed goals from RW. James Neal scores goals from RW. In particular, he's a guy that can set up in the right circle and pound pucks in from 20 feet, something this team, and particularly the PP, has been sorely missing. I could see Neal scoring 15 PP goals next season with Gaudreau's vision and passing, and teams needing to honour Monahan in the high slot.
Is he older than I'd like, getting paid more than I'd like for longer than I'd like? Yes. But the Flames can afford it because Treliving did his heavy lifting the last couple of years, getting the core of the team locked up long term for what are clearly now steals of contracts in the Post-Chiarelli marketplace.
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