Minor Neal started in the CYO in Oshawa, and grew up playing
minor ice hockey for the Whitby Wildcats of the
Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA)'s Eastern AAA League. He played in the 2001
Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with Whitby. Among his minor hockey coaches was NHL and
TSN broadcaster
Bob McKenzie. His father, Peter, coached him for the major part of his minor hockey career. After his midget season, he was selected by the
Plymouth Whalers in the third round, 80th overall, of the 2003
Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Priority Selection. Before joining the major junior ranks, he was assigned to the
Bowmanville Eagles, a Junior A club of the
Ontario Hockey Association (OHA), for the 2003–04 season.
Junior Following his rookie season in the OHL, Neal was selected in the second round, 33rd overall, of the
2005 NHL entry draft by the
Dallas Stars. Competing in his first NHL training camp, the Stars returned him to junior, where he recorded 21 goals and 58 points with Plymouth in
2005–06. Although Neal was returned to junior following the Stars' 2006 training camp, he was signed by the club to a three-year, entry-level contract in late October 2006. He recorded a junior career-high 27 goals and 65 points over 45 games in
2006–07. During the season, he was chosen to represent the Western Conference in the 2007 OHL All-Star Game and scored a goal. He also helped Plymouth win the OHL title, scoring the championship winning goal in overtime in Game 6 against the
Sudbury Wolves. He led all tournament scorers with five goals in the
Memorial Cup, held in
Vancouver.
Professional Dallas Stars (2008–2011) After turning professional for the
2007–08 season, Neal played with Dallas'
American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the
Iowa Stars. In 62 games, he scored 18 goals and 19 assists for 37 points. The next season,
2008–09, he scored his first career NHL goal in his first NHL game on October 10, 2008, against
Pascal Leclaire of the
Columbus Blue Jackets. His first multi-point NHL game came on November 26, 2008, with a two-goal effort against the
Minnesota Wild. Famously, Neal's first NHL fight proved to be a memorable and quick victory. On December 18, 2008, he was challenged to a fight by Columbus forward
Derick Brassard after Neal checked Blue Jacket
Fedor Tyutin hard into the corner of the Columbus defensive zone in the first period. Neal obliged, and produced a gash near Brassard's left eye with a powerful right punch. Brassard quickly called the fight off, where it was later disclosed that he had dislocated his right shoulder which ended his season. Five days later, Neal scored his first NHL hat-trick during a game against the
Toronto Maple Leafs on December 23, 2008, in an 8–2 win. His early season performance led to a nomination to the
YoungStars roster for the
2008 NHL All-Star Game in
Montreal. He also broke the Stars' team record for goals scored by a rookie (not including the franchise's years as the
Minnesota North Stars), surpassing
Jussi Jokinen's record of 17 goals set in
2005–06, in a 10–2 rout of the
New York Rangers on February 6, 2009. He completed the campaign with 24 goals and 37 points. In the Stars'
2009–10 season opener, on October 3, 2009, Neal recorded Dallas' first and second goals of the season against the
Nashville Predators. He improved to 55 points in his second NHL season. On September 16, 2010, just prior to the commencement of the
2010–11 season, Neal signed a two-year contract extension with the Stars worth $2.25 million in the first year and $3.5 million in the second.
Pittsburgh Penguins (2011–2014) Leading up to the 2011
trade deadline, on February 21, Neal was traded to the
Pittsburgh Penguins (along with defenceman
Matt Niskanen) in exchange for defenceman
Alex Goligoski. Neal scored his first career
Stanley Cup playoff goal on April 20 against the
Tampa Bay Lightning in double overtime to give Pittsburgh a 3–1 series lead. On February 19, 2012, one day after scoring 30 goals for the first time in his career, Neal signed a six-year contract extension with an average annual value of $5 million. He scored his second career hat-trick, and first as a Pittsburgh Penguin, in an 8–4 win against the
Winnipeg Jets on March 20, 2012. Neal had a break-out season in 2011–12, finishing with 40 goals and 41 assists for 81 points in 80 games. The 40 goals scored was second on the Penguins (only behind the 50 from teammate
Evgeni Malkin) and fourth in the league overall (behind
Marian Gaborik’s 41 goals, Evgeni Malkin’s 50 goals and the league-leading 60 goals by
Steven Stamkos, respectively. On May 24, 2013, in game 5 of the second round of the
2013 playoffs, he scored his first career playoff hat-trick, against the
Ottawa Senators. The Penguins defeated the Senators in the second round in five games before getting swept in the Eastern Conference Finals by the
Boston Bruins.
Nashville Predators (2014–2017) On June 27, 2014, during the
2014 NHL entry draft, Neal was traded to the Nashville Predators in exchange for
Patric Hörnqvist and
Nick Spaling. He scored his first goal with the Predators on October 17, 2014, in a 2–0 victory over the Winnipeg Jets. Neal had an impressive year in 2015–16, scoring 31 goals and 58 points and setting a new Predators franchise single-season record for plus-minus with +27. In the
2016–17 season, Neal helped lead the Predators to the organization's first
Stanley Cup Final appearance. The Predators
faced Neal's old team, the Pittsburgh Penguins, but lost the series four games to two, with the player he was traded for, Patric Hörnqvist, scoring the game-winning goal in the deciding Game 6.
Vegas Golden Knights (2017–2018) On June 21, 2017, Neal was selected by the
Vegas Golden Knights in the
expansion draft as the Predators' unprotected player. After attending the Golden Knights' first training camp, Neal secured a top-line role to open the
2017–18 season. On October 6, 2017, he scored the franchise's first two goals in a 2–1 comeback victory over the Dallas Stars, helping the Golden Knights achieve victory in their debut. In 71 games for the Golden Knights' successful inaugural season, Neal had 25 goals and 19 assists, placing fourth on the club in goals. during their inaugural season in 2018 In the
playoffs, Neal helped the Golden Knights claim the Western Conference title and secure his second successive appearance in the Stanley Cup Final. He contributed with 6 goals and 11 points in 20 games before
losing to the
Washington Capitals in five games.
Calgary Flames (2018–2019) After leaving Vegas as a free agent, on July 2, 2018, Neal signed a five-year, $28.75 million contract with the
Calgary Flames. Neal severely underwhelmed in his season with Calgary, only scoring a total of 19 points, less than his lowest single-season goal total on any of his previous teams. He was benched on multiple occasions during the campaign, including being healthy scratched prior to a pivotal game 5 Stanley Cup Playoffs first round matchup against the
Colorado Avalanche.
Edmonton Oilers (2019–2021) On July 19, 2019, the Flames traded Neal to the
Edmonton Oilers in exchange for
Milan Lucic and a
2020 conditional third-round pick. Both Neal and Lucic had struggled to live up to the expectations attached to their large salaries on their previous teams and the trade gave both players a chance for a fresh start. On October 8, 2019, Neal scored four goals in a game against the
New York Islanders, setting a franchise record for the most goals in the first three games of a season, with six goals. Neal scored 11 goals in the month of October 2019 alone. However, Neal's production began to tail off as the season progressed, as he battled injury and his ice-time decreased. Neal missed 16 games with an ankle injury he suffered against the Flames on January 29, 2020, and he failed to score a single goal in the 13 games he did play in 2020. At the time of the Lucic-for-Neal trade, the Flames and Oilers had agreed that, should Neal score at least 21 goals in the
2019-20 NHL season and Lucic score at least 10 fewer goals than Neal, the Oilers owed the Flames a third-round draft choice in the
2020 NHL entry draft. Due to the abrupt and incomplete finish to the 2019-20 season, the Flames and Oilers remained at an impasse over how to resolve the trade condition, given that Neal finished with 19 goals (two fewer than the required threshold) but was on pace to surpass 21 if the season played to its 82-game conclusion. On July 31, 2020, the NHL ruled that the Oilers owed the Flames a third-round draft choice in Edmonton's choice of either the 2020 or 2021 NHL Entry Drafts as a result of a trade condition the two teams had made as part of the Lucic/Neal swap. On July 27, 2021, the Oilers placed Neal on waivers for the purpose of buying out the remaining two years of his contract.
St. Louis Blues (2021–2022) As a free agent over the summer and approaching the season, Neal was invited to attend the
St. Louis Blues training camp on a
professional tryout contract on September 18, 2021. On October 9, Neal agreed to a one-year contract with the Blues. On January 2, 2022, Neal was placed on waivers by St. Louis. As a free agent over the summer and approaching the season, Neal was invited to attend the
Columbus Blue Jackets training camp on a
professional tryout contract on September 1, 2022. He was released from his PTO a month later, on October 3. ==International play==