Examining the Nashville/Pittsburgh deal for Neal.

The day of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, the Nashville Predators traded Patric Hornqvist and Nick Spaling to the Penguins in exchanging for winger James Neal. As a Predators fan, I thought hey this is a good deal for both teams. Now let's look at the trade in detail:

          From a Penguins view, Hornqvist scored 53 points last year in 73 games without a solidified number one centre. With the vacancy left by Neal, Hornqvist would fit on a line with Evgeni Malkin, arguably one of the best Centremen in the game. Imagine the upside Hornqvist could have with the Penguin. If he is able to tally 53 points in Nashville he can certainly get 60+ with Pittsburgh. I would even consider him an X-factor in Pittsburgh.

Hornqvist is very excited to start the season to get the opportunity to play with Crosby and Malkin. "Obviously, it's hard to say how much I can produce while playing with [Crosby and Malkin]," Hornqvist said Thursday. "I got a great opportunity in front of me, playing with two of the best centermen in the world, but I'm not going to change my game. I'm still going to go hard to the net and try to score goals around the net. Obviously, I'm so happy for this opportunity to come to this organization and a good team and have a great chance to win."

          A Predators view, James Neal is the offensive threat they have lacked for years. Many think that Neal can break the Predators scoring record (33) which is currently held by former Preds captain Jason Arnott. In Neal's first full season with the Penguins he racked up 40 goals in 80 games. Playing only 59 games last season he score 27 goals. One can only hope that he will continue his scoring ways in Nashville this upcoming season. But with that one question is raised, can he score and play like he did in Pittsburgh without Evgeni Malkin by his side? Not to shy away at the likes of Colin Wilson, Mike Fisher, Olli Jokinen, etc. but they are no Gino Malkin. Neal has said that he feels like he is come into his own the last few seasons and says he is ready to be a star.

"I think Nashville fans are going to see the most pure, natural goal scorer they've seen in the team's history in James Neal," said former Predators Steve Sullivan who played with Neal in Pittsburgh the year Neal scored 40 goals. He continued to say "I had a chance to play with James for a year in Pittsburgh, and he can score from anywhere. He's a threat on the ice all the time. He's a fast skater, he explodes out of the gates really quick. His shot release is ridiculous, so I'm hoping he can continue that and scoring some big goals."

James Neal's first conference call meeting the Nashville media for the first time:
*On playing with a team that is more offensively challenged than his former team*
"I think that's part of why I came to Nashville. You look at what Nashville did last year, playing over 50 games without their best player, and goaltender Pekka Rinne. Our defense is unbelievable, starting with Shea Weber. Things are changing here. We're going to be a more offensive team. I've talked to coach (Peter) Laviolette. Nothing but a bright future ahead. It's something I'm looking forward to, and I need to step up and be a top guy on the team and a leader and I'm ready for that challenge."