In all seriousness, I was one of those who also thought that if one of Neal-Lucic was going to rebound, it would be Neal.
Not all sure why he wasn't successful in Calgary, but JR made some pretty sound observations as to possible causes.
Neal is and always has been the more complete hockey player of the two, like him or not.
I will add that perhaps team style might have something to do with it.
Calgary, at their core, have always been a defense first type team.
Sure, they have more offensive players now than they have had in recent years, but still, the team identity, and one where they play their best is defense and goaltending, backed up by strong a strong attack style..particularly from the blue line.
To me, that pretty much leaves Neal out of most equations there....unless he quickly adapts to that, which he obviously didn't.
Pittsburgh, Nashville once they moved away from the older Trotz system, Vegas, and now Edmonton.
All highly offensive (or at least, have the idea to play that way), all more about the attack with perhaps putting defense secondary (basically betting that the goalie can just take care of himself), and playing with fantastic like-minded linemates who all want to play that north-south style....with a coach that encourages it.
That suits Neal just fine.
Then there is health of course.
Will Neal continue the way he has been playing? Well the numbers he is putting up are downright ridiculous.....he can't possibly maintain that for an entire season. So no...he won't keep up that pace.
But can he still have a fine year, help bolster the Oilers, and put up the kinds of numbers people are used to seeing from him?
Absolutely. As long as he stays healthy, I don't see why not.
Playing alongside three of the NHL's best forwards and with a backend lead by Nurse that is slowly coming around won't hurt his chances of doing so either.