He wasn’t the final name announced during the expansion draft, wasn’t the face on which the Golden Knights would build a franchise.
But never was his importance to an inaugural season — at least for how long he might be around — undervalued.
James Neal was always going to play a role , be it in the short term of providing an example of how pros work or over the course of what continues to prove an improbable story.
Vegas is two wins from the Stanley Cup Final — say that five times without shaking your head — after it defeated Winnipeg 4-2 on Wednesday night in Game 3 of the best-of-seven Western Conference Final before an announced gathering of 18,477 at T-Mobile Arena.