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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 2012-13. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Corey Perry ANA · 36 P in 44 GP Brad Marchand BOS · 36 P in 45 GP Chris Stewart STL · 36 P in 48 GP Patrik Elias NJD · 36 P in 48 GP Teddy Purcell TBL · 36 P in 48 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

2012-13 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
40 21 15 36 5 26 136 56 0.90 15.4 17:28

Contract

$5MCap hit2012-13
$139KCap dollars per point36 points in 40 games
$817KCap dollars per goal above replacement6.1 goals above replacement
$5.8MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
+$820KValueworth 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 558 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Who signed him to it, and when, are not on record. When it ends is not known.

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 2012-13 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.

2012-13 analytics

Regular season Playoffs

Rating

+6.1Goals above replacement67th of 605 skaters, 55th of 397 forwards
+1.0Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
+4.2Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 397 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+3.0 86th percentileEven-strength defence-0.7 26th percentilePower play+2.2 98th percentilePenalty kill+0.0 54th percentilePenalties-0.2 23rd 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

54.1Corsi for %530 attempts for, 449 against
+5.5CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
55.5Expected goals for %24.0 expected for, 19.2 against
+3.9xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
52.7Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
58.1Goals for %25 for, 18 against
101.6PDO8.9% shooting + 92.7% saves
166Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

Each share is coloured by where it ranks among the 578 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 lineGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Evgeni Malkin · James Neal · Zach Boychuk761:4851.153.90-3
Jarome Iginla · Evgeni Malkin · James Neal550:1549.141.81-0
James Neal · Dustin Jeffrey · Beau Bennett845:2046.950.41-0
Chris Kunitz · Sidney Crosby · James Neal1243:2356.348.75-2

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.

20Goalsnot counting empty-netters
13.2Expected goalsfrom 173 unblocked attempts
+6.8Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 1.13 expected goals per 60 minutes96th
Shot quality 7.6% chance per attempt56th
Finishing +6.8 goals above expected97thOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of forwards he is ahead of, among the 355 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

05101520Game 20Game 40Goals 20Expected 13.2

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 27, 2013 vs CAR W 8-3 3 1 4 2 0 8 0 13:08
Apr 5, 2013 vs NYR W 2-1 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 15:36
Apr 3, 2013 @ NYR L 1-6 0 0 0 -1 0 5 5 16:52
Apr 2, 2013 vs BUF L 1-4 0 0 0 -1 2 5 0 19:46
Mar 30, 2013 vs NYI W 2-0 1 0 1 1 0 5 1 19:49
Mar 28, 2013 vs WPG W 4-0 0 1 1 1 0 3 0 15:37
Mar 26, 2013 vs MTL W 1-0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 16:39
Mar 24, 2013 vs PHI W 2-1 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 18:39
Mar 22, 2013 @ NYI W 4-2 0 1 1 1 0 3 0 18:34
Mar 19, 2013 vs WSH W 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 14:52
Mar 17, 2013 vs BOS W 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 13:39
Mar 16, 2013 vs NYR W 3-0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 16:54
Mar 14, 2013 @ TOR W 3-1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 15:50
Mar 12, 2013 vs BOS W 3-2 0 1 1 2 0 3 2 18:19
Mar 10, 2013 vs NYI W 6-1 1 2 3 1 0 2 0 12:59
Mar 9, 2013 @ TOR W 5-4 (SO) 1 1 2 2 0 7 1 21:21
Mar 7, 2013 @ PHI W 5-4 1 0 1 1 6 6 4 15:27
Mar 4, 2013 vs TBL W 4-3 1 0 1 1 0 4 1 18:23
Mar 2, 2013 @ MTL W 7-6 (OT) 0 1 1 1 0 3 2 18:27
Feb 28, 2013 @ CAR L 1-4 0 0 0 -1 0 3 1 16:31
Feb 26, 2013 @ FLA L 4-6 1 1 2 2 2 6 5 21:16
Feb 24, 2013 vs TBL W 5-3 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 19:15
Feb 22, 2013 vs FLA W 3-1 0 1 1 -1 0 4 0 17:27
Feb 20, 2013 vs PHI L 5-6 1 1 2 -1 2 3 2 20:23
Feb 17, 2013 @ BUF W 4-3 0 0 0 -1 2 3 0 18:21
Feb 15, 2013 @ WPG W 3-1 1 0 1 -1 0 3 1 15:45
Feb 13, 2013 vs OTT W 4-2 2 1 3 2 0 2 0 18:23
Feb 10, 2013 vs NJD L 1-3 1 0 1 -2 2 2 1 20:29
Feb 9, 2013 @ NJD L 1-3 0 0 0 0 2 3 0 18:02
Feb 7, 2013 vs WSH W 5-2 1 1 2 0 0 4 2 15:40
Feb 5, 2013 @ NYI W 4-2 1 0 1 0 4 4 1 16:12
Feb 3, 2013 @ WSH W 6-3 0 1 1 -1 0 0 3 16:09
Feb 2, 2013 vs NJD W 5-1 0 0 0 0 0 3 4 14:34
Jan 31, 2013 @ NYR W 3-0 1 0 1 1 0 3 1 18:41
Jan 29, 2013 vs NYI L 1-4 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 18:29
Jan 27, 2013 @ OTT W 2-1 (SO) 1 0 1 0 0 2 5 21:53
Jan 25, 2013 @ WPG L 2-4 0 0 0 -2 0 3 1 17:43
Jan 23, 2013 vs TOR L 2-5 0 0 0 -3 0 5 0 17:52
Jan 20, 2013 @ NYR W 6-3 2 0 2 0 2 7 0 18:33
Jan 19, 2013 @ PHI W 3-1 1 0 1 1 0 7 2 16:16