Quote:
Originally Posted by Zulu29
I’m as disappointed in Neil’s season as anyone, but he’s not hurting the team at this point. I would think that there will be an addition to the roster through a trade soon, perhaps it would be worthwhile to see how that plays out and where the pieces fit before jettisoning a perennial 20 goal scorer?
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This keeps getting repeated on this forum and it doesn't make a lot of sense. First, Neal is hurting the team with his poor defensive play. The miracle comeback against the Flyers was only needed because he and Smith played like trash, and having an offensively minded player who can't score really limits what you can do with the bottom 6. You can't use Neal in a checking role to at least get some use out of him
Plus everything is going right for the Flames at the moment. Top offense, top defense, great special teams, so yeah Neal's flaws can be overlooked at the moment. But as soon as the Flames hit a lull in any part of their game, guys like Neal are the difference between weathering the storm or dropping out of a home ice playoff spot. I just hope Treliving is working on some kind of plan to work around Neal if he continues to degrade