It took until Monday and nearly 24 hours after NHL free agency first opened for James Neal to find a home, but the arguably best winger in this year's free agent class is now a member of the Calgary Flames. Neal signed a deal that will see him make $28.75 million over five years with the Flames organization.

Over his NHL career, Neal has 263 goals and 495 points in 703 NHL games. He's never played a season where he didn't score 20 goals and almost everywhere he's played, his teams have seen tremendous success including a couple Stanley Cups and, last season, an appearance in the NHL Stanley Cup Finals with an expansion Vegas Golden Knights team. For the Knights, Neal had 25 goals and 44 points in 71 games along with six goals and 11 points in 20 games during their run to the Stanley Cup Final.

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Going into NHL free agency, Neal was one of the top names on the board, but he wanted a big-time deal that might take him close to the end of his NHL career. Looking for a six-year commitment, he was unable to reach terms with the Golden Knights and after speaking with a number of NHL teams who expressed interest, he settled on a five-year deal with the Flames. For Calgary, he will add much-needed scoring punch to a team that was the sixth-worst scoring team in the NHL last season.

Neal will join a group of forwards in Calgary that include Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, Mikael Backlund, and Matthew Tkachuk. Earlier in the week, Calgary also sent defenseman Dougie Hamilton to Carolina in exchange for blueliner Noah Hanafin and forward Elias Lindholm.

What makes Neal one of the best forwards on the market is his consistency to put the puck in the net. Regardless of who he plays with, the Flames can expect that he'll produce and is a lock to score 20 goals. He has the ability to score 30, maybe 40 if healthy.

For Vegas, the loss of Neal will sting. Part of the NHL Expansion Draft, Neal was one of the faces of a team that had more success than any sports franchise in their inaugural season. That kind of chemistry is difficult to find.

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