 Pittsburgh Penguins James Neal stands in front of Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price during their game at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Nov. 26, 2011. (Martin Chevalier/QMI Agency) |
BUFFALO, NY - The Pittsburgh Penguins re-signed forward James Neal to a six-year contract extension on Sunday.
The deal, which begins next season and has an average annual value of $5 million, keeps Neal in the Steel City through the 2017-18 campaign.
Neal has emerged as one of the league's best snipers in his first full season with the Penguins.
Coming into Sunday's action, the 24-year-old is tied for third in the NHL and ranks second on the team with a career-high 30 goals. He has also established personal bests in points (56), power-play goals (13) and shots (242), leading the league in the latter two categories.
Selected to play in his first NHL All-Star Game last month in Ottawa, Neal joined the Penguins last February in a trade with Dallas.
For his career, the Ontario native has registered 103 goals and 90 assists in 292 games with the Stars and Penguins.
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