Quote:
Originally Posted by sureLoss
if you need further confirmation than lavoie:
Pat Steinberg @Fan960Steinberg
James Neal’s contract with Calgary does not include a no-move or no-trade clause. #Flames
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This is a huge deal for this contract IMO. With Seattle likely joining the league in two years, he could be a good player to leave unprotected. Especially if he scores 25+ goals each of the next 2 seasons, he'd be real tempting for the Seattle GM to try to recreate some Vegas magic, and we'd get out of a contract that could be ugly in the last year or 2.
That said, even if there were no expansion I like the deal. The #1 thing worrying me about the Hamilton trade was shipping out two of the best shots on a team that already lacks shooting talent, and adding Neal goes a long way to remedying that. A player who has a skillset you're lacking elsewhere in your lineup is even more valuable than they would be in a vacuum.