Revisiting The James Neal Trade

On the heels of yesterday’s news that the Pittsburgh Penguins have re-signed their star power-forward James Neal to a six-year, 30 million-dollar contract, I thought I would revisit the trade that brought Neal to the Penguins in the first place. I considered calling the blog “Bad Trades, Revisited,” but I wanted to save the suspense that comes with unveiling my opinion for the fourth line of the blog.

That’s right, I believe the Dallas Stars should have never traded James Neal (and Matt Niskanen) for Alex Goligoski. It’s pretty simple: a top-line sniper, especially a top-line power forward, well, really you shouldn’t trade them at all, but if you are going to trade one for a defenseman, a top-line sniper should equate to a #1 defenseman, or a good #2 at worst. Just like a second-line forward equates to a “top-four” defenseman, usually meaning a #4 – #3 type of guy. The Stars mistake was in trading a top-line power-forward for a “top-four” defenseman in Alex Goligoski instead of a “top-pairing” guy.

Now I know all these hockey terms can be confusing, and maybe that’s where the misunderstanding happened for Dallas’ management team, but… Oh, wait, what is this I’m hearing? Dallas’ GM is an ex-hockey player? He knows the lingo? In that case, there is no excuse.

The Top 20 Signings of the NHL Offseason, And Why the Sharks Should Have Signed Them, Part 6

(Editor’s Note. Don’t forget to vote in the poll or comment with your thoughts!)

In this series of articles, we will take an in-depth look at what we consider to be the 20 best value UFA signings of the offseason, in no particular order. We will first detail what makes the signings good from a neutral perspective, then discuss why the signing would have benefitted the Sharks (at the same contract terms unless others are discussed). There is no guarantee these players would have even come to the Sharks, but we find it interesting to analyze signings made this offseason through a Sharks lens. Enjoy!

If you missed the first four parts when they were posted, you can check them out here. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5. Now for Part 6.

ERIC BELANGER – C – EDMONTON OILERS
Age. 33. Height. 5’11”. Weight. 185 lbs. Shoots. Left.
Contract. 3 years, 5.25M, Edmonton Oilers.
2010-2011 Stats. 82GP, 13G, 40PTS, +11 plus/minus, 36PIM.

Eric Belanger is a third line center with the two-way skills to step up onto the second line if needed.