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James Neal

#81 · Left wing · St. Louis Blues

Born Sep 3, 1987 in Whitby, Ontario, CAN · 6'3", 212 lb · Shoots left · Drafted 33rd overall in 2005 by DAL (round 2)

Compare with a similar player

The forwards closest to him in points in 2010-11. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Tyler Kennedy PIT · 45 P in 80 GP Andrei Kostitsyn MTL · 45 P in 81 GP David Jones COL · 45 P in 77 GP Dustin Penner LAK · 45 P in 81 GP Todd Bertuzzi DET · 45 P in 81 GP

Career

Regular season games only. Pick a season to see its game log below. Cap hit is what he counted against the salary cap that season, where it is known.

0204060802008-09: 37 points3708-092009-10: 55 points5509-102010-11: 45 points4510-112011-12: 81 points8111-122012-13: 36 points3612-132013-14: 61 points6113-142014-15: 37 points3714-152015-16: 58 points5815-162016-17: 41 points4116-172017-18: 44 points4417-182018-19: 19 points1918-192019-20: 31 points3119-202020-21: 10 points1020-212021-22: 4 points421-22

Points by season. The darker bar is the season shown below.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
2008-09 DAL 77 24 13 37 -11 51 171 194 0.48
2009-10 DAL 78 27 28 55 -5 64 200 174 0.71
2010-11 DAL 59 21 18 39 8 60 160 120 0.66 $2.875M
2010-11 PIT 20 1 5 6 -1 6 52 39 0.30
2011-12 PIT 80 40 41 81 6 87 329 108 1.01 $2.875M
2012-13 PIT 40 21 15 36 5 26 136 56 0.90 $5M
2013-14 PIT 59 27 34 61 15 55 238 58 1.03 $5M
2014-15 NSH 67 23 14 37 12 57 221 71 0.55 $5M
2015-16 NSH 82 31 27 58 27 65 268 113 0.71 $5M
2016-17 NSH 70 23 18 41 -10 35 202 84 0.59 $5M
2017-18 VGK 71 25 19 44 -11 24 202 44 0.62 $5M
2018-19 CGY 63 7 12 19 -5 28 141 46 0.30 $5.75M
2019-20 EDM 55 19 12 31 -20 12 112 88 0.56 $5.75M
2020-21 EDM 29 5 5 10 -2 11 51 26 0.34 $5.75M
2021-22 STL 19 2 2 4 -1 0 31 17 0.21 $750K
14 seasons Career 869 296 263 559 7 581 2514 1238 0.64

Playoffs

Playoff games only. Pick a season to see that year's bracket.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
2010-11 PIT 7 1 1 2 -1 6 20 8 0.29
2011-12 PIT 5 2 4 6 -3 12 28 11 1.20
2012-13 PIT 13 6 4 10 -3 8 51 17 0.77
2013-14 PIT 13 2 2 4 2 24 49 17 0.31
2014-15 NSH 6 4 1 5 0 8 25 21 0.83
2015-16 NSH 14 4 4 8 1 8 47 35 0.57
2016-17 NSH 22 6 3 9 -8 14 67 49 0.41
2017-18 VGK 20 6 5 11 0 12 64 49 0.55
2018-19 CGY 4 0 0 0 -3 0 7 11 0.00
2019-20 EDM 4 2 1 3 3 0 11 6 0.75
2020-21 EDM 2 0 0 0 -1 0 3 8 0.00
11 seasons Playoffs 110 33 25 58 -13 92 372 232 0.53

2010-11 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
79 22 23 45 7 66 212 159 0.57 10.4 17:30

Contract

$2.875MCap hitends in 2012, then RFA
$64KCap dollars per point45 points in 79 games
$331KCap dollars per goal above replacement8.7 goals above replacement
$4.2MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
+$1.3MValueworth minus cap hit; below zero is overpaid

His cap hit for the whole season, set against what he did in the regular season. Lower is better value. In a season still being played the cost per point starts high and falls as the games add up. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 315 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Who signed him to it, and when, are not on record. It runs through 2011-12, with 1 season left after this one, and he is then a restricted free agent.

Season Cap hit
2010-11 $2.875M
2011-12 $2.875M

Each season left on the contract. Only its cap hit and its end are known: how the pay is split by season, and any signing bonus, are not.

Contracts he has signed

Signed Signed by Kind Seasons Years In all Cap hit
2021-22 to 2021-22 $750K
2020-21 to 2020-21 $5.75M
2018-19 to 2022-23 $5.75M
2012-13 to 2017-18 $5M
2010-11 to 2011-12 $2.875M

Every contract on record for him, newest first, with the team that signed him to it and the day it was signed. The one covering 2010-11 is marked. An extension is signed while the contract before it is still running, often a year ahead. A row with no team or date is a contract known only by its cap hit, most often one signed since October 2024.

2010-11 analytics

Regular season Playoffs

Rating

+8.7Goals above replacement89th of 672 skaters, 74th of 439 forwards
+1.4Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
+4.9Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 439 ranked forwards: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile.

Even-strength offence+3.1 78th percentileEven-strength defence+1.4 78th percentilePower play+0.1 65th percentilePenalty kill-0.2 19th percentilePenalties+0.5 54th percentile

The goals he added to his team's goal difference, compared with a spare-part player given the same ice time. Each part is measured against the league, so zero is an average skater, and the rank beside it is among forwards. A full season is about two-thirds the player and one-third chance. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

-50510152010-112012-132014-152016-172018-192020-21Goals above replacementGoals above replacement, by season

On the ice

What happened at five-on-five while he was on the ice. What these numbers mean

52.1Corsi for %1080 attempts for, 992 against
+3.7CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
50.9Expected goals for %40.8 expected for, 39.4 against
+3.1xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
51.6Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
55.8Goals for %48 for, 38 against
102.1PDO8.9% shooting + 93.2% saves
286Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

Each share is coloured by where it ranks among the 569 skaters who played enough to be ranked: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile. PDO and attempts taken are left plain, since neither is good or bad on its own.

Who he played with

Forward lineTeamGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Brad Richards · Loui Eriksson · James NealDAL55646:0849.349.330-17
Alex Kovalev · James Neal · Mark LetestuPIT12104:4364.459.63-3
Alex Kovalev · James Neal · Jordan StaalPIT1137:0960.855.23-3
Alex Kovalev · James Neal · Dustin JeffreyPIT629:5457.963.31-1

The lines he spent the most time in at five-on-five, with the team's share of the shot attempts and expected goals, and the goals for and against, while they were out. The two shares are coloured as above, against the league's lines that played a fair amount together. Hover over one for its percentile.

Chances and finishing

Expected goals adds up how likely each of his shots was to go in, judged by where it came from, what kind of shot it was and whether it was a rebound. All situations, leaving out shots at an empty net. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

22Goalsnot counting empty-netters
21.6Expected goalsfrom 294 unblocked attempts
+0.4Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.94 expected goals per 60 minutes82nd
Shot quality 7.4% chance per attempt51st
Finishing +0.4 goals above expected57thOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of forwards he is ahead of, among the 406 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

05101520Game 20Game 40Game 60Goals 22Expected 21.6

His goals and his expected goals as the season went on. When the goals line pulls away above, he is scoring more than his chances were worth; below, less.

Where he shot from

Every attempt he took this season, in all situations, attacking the net on the right. Darker red means more attempts from that spot, and each dot is a goal. "Show every shot" switches to a dot for each attempt, bigger for a better chance. Click a goal for its details.

Game log

Date Opponent Result G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits TOI
Apr 8, 2011 @ NYI W 4-3 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 06:50
Apr 5, 2011 vs NJD W 4-2 0 1 1 -1 0 2 2 17:17
Apr 2, 2011 @ FLA W 4-2 0 0 0 1 0 1 3 16:04
Mar 31, 2011 @ TBL L 1-2 0 0 0 0 2 5 5 17:58
Mar 29, 2011 vs PHI L 2-5 0 0 0 -1 0 3 3 14:19
Mar 27, 2011 vs FLA W 2-1 (SO) 0 1 1 1 0 1 2 20:50
Mar 25, 2011 vs NJD W 1-0 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 16:15
Mar 24, 2011 @ PHI W 2-1 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 19:32
Mar 21, 2011 @ DET W 5-4 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 1 3 16:31
Mar 20, 2011 vs NYR L 2-5 0 1 1 0 0 3 2 16:54
Mar 15, 2011 @ OTT W 5-1 0 0 0 1 0 7 2 17:14
Mar 13, 2011 vs EDM W 5-1 0 1 1 -1 0 3 0 16:01
Mar 12, 2011 vs MTL L 0-3 0 0 0 0 0 4 2 18:48
Mar 8, 2011 vs BUF W 3-1 1 1 2 3 0 4 0 16:13
Mar 5, 2011 @ BOS W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 1 3 18:56
Mar 4, 2011 @ NJD L 1-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 18:31
Mar 2, 2011 @ TOR L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 2 2 2 14:33
Feb 26, 2011 @ TOR W 6-5 (SO) 0 0 0 -2 2 3 1 17:09
Feb 25, 2011 @ CAR L 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 17:14
Feb 23, 2011 vs SJS L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 1 0 2 3 20:48
Feb 19, 2011 @ VAN L 2-5 1 0 1 -1 0 2 3 20:00
Feb 16, 2011 @ CGY L 2-4 0 1 1 0 0 3 1 18:49
Feb 15, 2011 @ EDM L 1-4 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 15:26
Feb 13, 2011 vs CBJ L 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 17:53
Feb 11, 2011 vs CHI W 4-3 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 4 3 21:07
Feb 9, 2011 vs PHX L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 17:01
Feb 5, 2011 @ PHI L 1-3 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 21:42
Feb 3, 2011 @ BOS L 3-6 0 0 0 -1 0 1 3 17:42
Feb 1, 2011 vs VAN L 1-4 0 0 0 0 2 2 3 18:41
Jan 26, 2011 vs EDM W 3-1 0 0 0 0 19 0 3 13:57
Jan 24, 2011 @ VAN L 1-7 0 1 1 -1 0 3 2 18:31
Jan 21, 2011 @ CGY L 4-7 1 0 1 -1 0 1 4 16:17
Jan 20, 2011 @ EDM W 4-2 1 0 1 0 0 2 2 14:40
Jan 17, 2011 vs LAK W 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 14:44
Jan 15, 2011 vs ATL W 6-1 2 0 2 0 0 5 2 17:16
Jan 11, 2011 vs EDM W 3-2 1 0 1 0 0 4 6 19:35
Jan 9, 2011 @ MIN W 4-0 1 0 1 2 0 2 2 16:33
Jan 7, 2011 vs NYR L 2-3 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 5 1 21:39
Jan 5, 2011 @ CHI W 4-2 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 14:13
Jan 2, 2011 @ STL W 4-2 1 0 1 1 0 2 1 18:41
Dec 31, 2010 vs VAN L 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 8 3 18:00
Dec 29, 2010 vs DET L 3-7 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 18:55
Dec 28, 2010 @ NSH W 4-2 0 0 0 1 2 2 2 15:43
Dec 26, 2010 vs PHX L 0-1 0 0 0 -1 2 1 0 17:47
Dec 23, 2010 vs CGY L 2-3 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 4 3 16:49
Dec 21, 2010 vs MTL W 5-2 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 15:13
Dec 19, 2010 @ DET W 4-3 (OT) 0 0 0 1 0 2 4 17:47
Dec 18, 2010 @ CBJ W 2-1 0 0 0 0 2 1 2 15:58
Dec 16, 2010 vs SJS L 3-4 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 1 5 16:21
Dec 13, 2010 @ SJS W 3-2 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 2 2 16:33
Dec 11, 2010 @ PHX L 2-5 1 0 1 -1 0 6 1 18:16
Dec 10, 2010 vs CAR W 2-1 (SO) 1 0 1 1 0 4 2 17:05
Dec 8, 2010 @ CHI L 3-5 1 1 2 0 2 2 2 15:14
Dec 6, 2010 @ CBJ L 2-3 (SO) 0 1 1 1 0 3 1 18:38
Dec 4, 2010 vs MIN W 4-3 (OT) 0 1 1 -1 0 2 5 19:33
Dec 2, 2010 vs WSH W 2-1 0 1 1 0 0 2 1 17:11
Nov 29, 2010 @ CAR W 4-1 2 0 2 2 2 6 1 17:15
Nov 27, 2010 @ STL W 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 16:50
Nov 26, 2010 vs STL W 3-2 0 0 0 -1 0 1 2 18:53
Nov 24, 2010 @ OTT W 2-1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 17:59
Nov 22, 2010 @ TOR L 1-4 0 0 0 -1 2 3 4 17:52
Nov 20, 2010 vs COL L 3-4 (SO) 1 1 2 1 0 5 2 20:37
Nov 18, 2010 vs SJS W 5-4 (OT) 2 1 3 1 4 8 2 16:18
Nov 16, 2010 vs ANA W 2-1 0 1 1 1 0 3 2 16:43
Nov 12, 2010 @ ANA L 2-4 0 1 1 0 0 3 2 16:34
Nov 11, 2010 @ LAK L 1-3 0 0 0 1 5 4 2 16:26
Nov 6, 2010 @ COL L 0-5 0 0 0 -1 2 2 1 18:31
Nov 5, 2010 vs PHX W 6-3 0 1 1 1 4 2 0 14:49
Nov 3, 2010 vs PIT W 5-2 0 1 1 1 0 3 2 15:40
Oct 30, 2010 vs BUF W 4-0 1 0 1 0 0 7 0 19:42
Oct 28, 2010 vs LAK L 2-5 0 1 1 -1 0 4 3 19:54
Oct 26, 2010 vs ANA L 2-5 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 17:26
Oct 23, 2010 vs NSH L 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 5 2 19:31
Oct 21, 2010 @ FLA W 4-1 1 0 1 1 0 2 0 17:48
Oct 18, 2010 @ TBL L 4-5 1 0 1 1 2 1 3 19:32
Oct 16, 2010 vs STL W 3-2 (SO) 1 1 2 2 0 4 6 19:18
Oct 14, 2010 vs DET W 4-1 1 1 2 2 4 2 1 19:06
Oct 9, 2010 @ NYI W 5-4 (SO) 0 0 0 1 2 4 1 20:25
Oct 8, 2010 @ NJD W 4-3 (OT) 0 2 2 1 0 1 2 17:38