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Penguins Director of Amateur Scouting Weighs in on 2018 Draft - June 23, 2018
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Updates throughout: Penguins pick two in the second round in Dallas - June 23, 2018
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NHL Draft — Penguins restock defensive depth during Day 2 - June 24, 2017
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Rutherford goes for toughness, acquires Reaves from St. Louis - June 23, 2017
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Thank you MAF – remembering the Flower as he moves on to Las Vegas - June 22, 2017
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Uncanny how Penguins see history repeat itself in Niskanen’s ‘hockey play’ - May 2, 2017
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Was the NHL’s Top 100 simply a popularity contest? Evgeni Malkin’s omission makes it look that way - January 29, 2017
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Conor Sheary continues to prove doubters wrong - January 24, 2017
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Penguins’ recent problems not irreparable - January 16, 2017
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Bye week had its benefits, but condensed schedule could hurt - January 10, 2017
James Neal Added to All-Star Roster…
Neal added to the All-Star Game as a replacement for the sulking Alex Ovechkin.
By Brian Metzer
Well, the league did what Penguins fans have been clamoring for since the All-Star rosters were announced just about two weeks ago, they have added James Neal to the festivities as a replacement for the sulking Alex Ovechkin. Many believed that Neal should have been included from the start, however I wasn’t so sure.
You have to remember, Neal wasn’t quite a household name just yet. Sure he has scored 25-goals in each of the last three seasons, but many folks had his dismal second half from last season fresh in their minds. Yes, Neal is in the middle of a career year, but at the time of the roster announcements, the Penguins were mired in a six-game losing streak and he had been held scoreless in each game. (Though he had 2-goals disallowed over that stretch)
The Penguins sniper was sitting at 36-points (21G-15A) and had very compatible numbers to the likes Jarome Iginla, Patrick Kane and Marian Gaborik. All of which had made more of an impression on the selection committee over a number of past years. Neal’s time was on the horizon, but he just wasn’t quite there yet.
However, once he got the news that he was not included in the game back on Jan. 12, he said and did all of the “Eh, it’s no big deals” that anyone else would have, but went on a mission to get his name into the heads of those who would choose the injury replacements.
Yes, he had credentials prior to this run that were worthy, but when your team isn’t winning, and you aren’t scoring Neal went on a roll, scoring 11-points (6G-5A) over the seven games since the “snub,” jumped all the way up to 13th in the league’s scoring race and into a second place tie for goals with Jonathan Toews. People noticed and he got himself into the game…
Congrats Nealer! I am sure he, Geno, and Tanger are going to have a blast in Canada’s capital city… during the dry stretch, people tend to overlook you.
Moving forward, he will be more likely to be included, as he is now putting himself in the “household name” category…