Every body talks about the "fit" with Neal.
And I think his premature Oiler success really drives home that point.
When signed, Neal was the perfect fit for that top line. For all of the reasons that he was sought after in the first place. In hindsight, it would have pushed Lindholm down and created less of a top heavy depth problem.
The issue almost originates with Peters, Monahan and Gaudreau. Peters wants the team to play a certain way, to have success. A 200 ft game. Good defense to create good offense. The best teams' top lines should be able to play against anyone in all situations. The problem with that is that Monahan and Gaudreau don't particularly excel at the defensive side of the game, and James Neal sure as heck doesn't.
That trios stats probably would have been good, but they're GF/GA breakdown would have been horrid. Enter Elias Lindholm, a versatile 2 way forward who is on the upswing. An ever coveted right shot and can take faceoffs. The chemistry was almost instant and his 2 way game and experience at center allows for switching off with Monahan in the D zone. It was a no brainer.
So bump Neal down to line 2. Almost a non starter. Thats the matchup line and Neal is never winning a Selke.
So he plays with Jankowski and Bennett in an energy role. Neal has always needed to play with good players to have success. I like those guys, but they're no Gaudreau/McDavid/Malkin.
I think with Neal, if he's scoring, everything else follows, he'll play with an edge and a swagger. If hes not scoring, he's useless.
This leads to Neal and the Oilers. They don't have the same depth as the Flames do, they don't have the benefit of considering fit, line matching etc, they just need wingers with a pulse. Enter James Neal and its easy to see why he's having early success and never really fit in here.
Its really too bad because that top six winger that he was signed to be is exactly what this team needs right now.
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