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New Jersey Devils Free Agency Profile: James Neal

By Nick Villano

LAS VEGAS, NV - MAY 16: James Neal #18 of the Vegas Golden Knights arrives at a news conference following the team's 4-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets in Game Three of the Western Conference Finals during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at T-Mobile Arena on May 16, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - MAY 16: James Neal #18 of the Vegas Golden Knights arrives at a news conference following the team's 4-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets in Game Three of the Western Conference Finals during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at T-Mobile Arena on May 16, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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The New Jersey Devils are officially in offseason mode. Over the next few days, we will look at 20 potential free agents they could look at signing. Today, we look at the Vegas Golden Knights James Neal.

One name that I’ve been very surprised to see New Jersey Devils fans talking about a lot for desirable targets this offseason is James Neal. Honestly, it’s for good reason. Neal helped lead the Vegas Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup Finals.

His goal scoring tells the story of his career. In nine years in the NHL, he’s never scored less than 20 goals in a season. He topped out with 40 on a dangerous Pittsburgh Penguins team back in 2012, and had his lowest output with 21 in the lockout shortened 2013 season.

Neal is supremely confident and will take a lot of shots, which is something the Devils need. Outside of Taylor Hall or Kyle Palmieri, most of the Devils don’t always shoot their shot. His 202 shots would be second on the Devils, despite missing 12 games over the past season.

There’s no doubt the Devils could use Neal’s secondary scoring. Despite playing left wing, which is the Devils strongest position, his production is hard to ignore. This team could really use 25 goals per season.

The issue is, so can every other team in the league. That’s going to make Neal very expensive. He’s making $5 million this season, and will look for a long-term contract with a decent raise. Nick Kypreos with Sportsnet reports that Neal wants between $6.5 million and $7 million per season. That’s a very rich deal, and would immediately make him the highest paid player on the Devils.

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Both Cory Schneider and Hall make $6 million per season. Leap frogging them to pay Neal, who’s never been the best player on a team, could be a hard sell. However, that’s what it is going to take to sign him.

I think the Devils should go after Neal, but I don’t see Ray Shero going that high. Yes, he did bring Neal to the Penguins back in 2010. That familiarity could help him in negotiations. However, it’s been four years since they worked together. Neal’s been with two other teams. It’s hard to see that as a real advantage.

The price point just doesn’t seem like it will work out. Shero doesn’t want to take away his greatest asset, which is cap space. He will likely have to spend more this offseason, but this one is a helluva commitment. This wouldn’t be a bad signing per se, it’s just hard to think that Shero would be willing to spend like that on an outside player.

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