With James Neal testing free agency, the Vegas Golden Knights need to find a potential replacement and who better than JVR?
James Neal had a fantastic season for the Vegas Golden Knights last year. His two goals against the Dallas Stars in game one set the tone for an incredible Golden Knights inaugural season. There are not many players in today’s NHL with the skill and size of the “Real Deal.”
In 2017-18, the Whitby Ontario native played 71 games, notched 25 goals, 19 assists, and 44 points. Neal played a massive role as a leader on the ice and off the ice in the community as well. Losing Neal to free agency would be an enormous loss for the Golden Knights. And at this rate, that’s the way that we’re heading.
Reports surfaced on Monday that James Neal is “unlikely” to return to Las Vegas to play for the Golden Knights. Neal will test the free agency market and see what teams are out there looking to improve at the forward position. So what do the Golden Knights do if Neal doesn’t resign?
There’s a ton of great free agents that the Golden Knights to choose from this year. Better than past years free agent markets. However, the perfect replacement for a player like Neal is signing James van Riemsdyk.
Van Riemsdyk fills every single role that Neal offers and then some. The 29-year old has the ability to take over a game all by himself. His game two performance against the Boston Bruins in 2011 is a pretty good example. He scored the Flyers two lone goals against the eventual Stanley Cup champions while also landing eight shots on net in 28:19 of TOI.
The Middletown, New Jersey native, scored 36 goals,18 assists, and 54 points in 81 games for the Maple Leafs last season. JVR is a power play weapon and using him down low on the man advantage will give the Golden Knights the ability to score the dirty goal. He has also been much more responsible in the defensive end of the ice.
Toronto had an influx of youth coming into the NHL, and van Riemsdyk’s job was to show them the ropes and have them become a 200-foot player. Although, he struggled in that aspect earlier in his career and his game to game consistency still can be a problem at times. But more often than not, van Riemsdyk gives 100% each night, and that should excite Gerard Gallant if JVR comes to Vegas.
The question is how much money would you throw at van Riemsdyk? JVR has the potential to score 30 goals a season. Signing the big forward will cost some dough, but he’s well worth it for what he brings to the table. I would sign van Riemsdyk for five years, 35 million total with 7 million dollars as the cap hit. Still, I feel like he will get more term on his end of the deal, likely six or seven years.
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All in all, replacing James Neal is no simple task, but by signing James van Riemsdyk, it can be. The Vegas Golden Knights have a lot of work to do, and they have a ton of cap space to play with this offseason. But signing a player of the caliber of van Riemsdyk would give the entire Western Conference a ton of problems if he comes to Vegas.