Christian Petersen
James Neal knows all about mixed emotions.
He went from the shock of his life to a sense of anticipation, albeit a delayed one, after a chat on Feb. 21 with his fellow native of Whitby, Ont., Dallas Stars general manager Joe Nieuwendyk. The chat was to inform Neal, 23, that he was traded from the Stars to the Pittsburgh Penguins along with defenceman Matt Niskanen for defenceman Alex Goligoski.
"It was a total shock," Neal said Wednesday, a few hours before the Penguins played the Toronto Maple Leafs. "Everything was great in Dallas; that's why I was shocked.
"They wanted a puck moving defenceman and Goligoski was the guy they wanted. They had to give up something to get something and it just happened to be me. But there is no better place to come than Pittsburgh."
That is because Neal was able to quickly turn from the shock of losing his place beside one of the best centres in the NHL, Brad Richards, to the anticipation of playing left wing with the best centre in the NHL, Sidney Crosby, or, at worst, playing with the second-best centre in the NHL, Evgeni Malkin.
Mind you, Neal realized he would have to wait a while to accomplish that, since Malkin is finished for the season with a knee injury and it still is not known if Crosby will be able to play at all this season due to a serious concussion. Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma said there is no change in status with Crosby, who is still experiencing concussion symptoms and unable to exercise.
"You knew coming here those guys were injured," Neal said. "I'm just trying to fit in and do my own thing as best I can. We have a great group here. When Sid [Crosby]and Geno [Malkin]come back it will just add to the group."
Neal, who had 21 goals in 59 games with Richards and the Stars, insists he never started dreaming about scoring 50 or more playing beside Crosby. He will have to settle for rookie centre Mark Letestu and winger Alexei Kovalev for now and went into his fourth game as a Penguin on Wednesday night still looking for his first goal with his new team.
"I haven't put much thought into it because I'm just trying to get comfortable and get used to playing with the guys who are here," he said. "I can't be worrying about playing with the big guns.
"If they come back and I get the chance to play with them it will be a pleasure. Right now, I'm thinking about just doing the little things and those points will come."
Neal said Crosby sent him a welcoming text message when the trade was made and has made him feel comfortable in the Penguins dressing room.
"He's been nothing but welcoming," Neal said. "You see the pace he was on this year [before the concussion] you can't say enough about the guy.
"When he comes back, it will be nothing but the biggest boost you ever could get."
Penguins insiders say Neal is the most likely candidate to play left wing with Crosby whether the superstar comes back this season or next. Not only is Neal the kind of hard-working winger who meshes well with Crosby, but the pairing would allow the Penguins to return to their original plan in training camp last fall of pairing Jordan Staal with Malkin. That was disrupted by injuries, first to Staal and then to Malkin.
Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma said the team is getting some relief from injuries on Wednesday. Forward Tyler Kennedy will return from a one-game absence while defenceman Paul Martin, who missed four games with a neck injury, will also be back in the lineup.