Former Edmonton Oilers forward James Neal inks PTO in St. Louis
By Zach Laing
2 years agoMonths after being bought out by the Edmonton Oilers, James Neal has a shot at a new home.
The St. Louis Blues announced Friday they signed Neal to a professional tryout and he will attend the teams’ training camp.
He joined the Oilers in a problem-for-problem trade with the Calgary Flames that saw Milan Lucic and a 3rd round draft pick go back the other way.
Neal was a serviceable forward for the Oilers scoring 24 goals and 41 points in 84 games. Much like was intended when the Oilers acquired him, they exercised their ability to buyout his deal this past offseason.
The Oilers will carry a cap hit of $1.916-million for the next four years, according to PuckPedia and will in turn save $3.833-million in the first and second years of the buyout, while then carrying the aforementioned cap hit for years three and four.
All the best to Neal as he looks to continue his career.
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.
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