James Neal: Fined For Embellishment, No One Is Shocked

Dec 9, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Nashville Predators left wing James Neal (left) celebrates with Nashville Predators center Mike Ribeiro (63) after scoring a goal during the third period at the at Pepsi Center. The Predators won 3-0. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports /

Nashville Predators forward James Neal becomes first skater penalized by new embellishment restrictions

When they picked up both James Neal and Mike Ribeiro over the summer, I joked that the Nashville Predators would have their hands full — and looks like the trouble has already started.

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As a part of the league’s new initiative to crack down on game embellishment — informally known as diving — players who receive multiple warnings for flopping themselves onto the ice in order to draw penalties will receive a monetary fine from the league. So far, one player has had to pony up… and that’s James Neal.

He received his first warning earlier this fall in a game against the St. Louis Blues, so a diving call made during the Predators’ Saturday night 2-0 loss to the San Jose Sharks resulted in Neal being fined $2,000 by the NHL.

The league’s new diving rule increases the fine with each subsequent embellishment call against a player, adding in fines for the team itself before suspending the player altogether for a graduated number of games. So far, they haven’t had to go this far — and hopefully, Neal won’t be the first one to test that out, either. He and linemates Ribeiro and rookie Filip Forsberg have all exceeded league expectations so far this season, leading a Western Conference franchise that missed the playoffs altogether last season to near the top of the standings this time around.

The call was made against Neal when he executed a ‘tuck and roll’ tumble to the ice following Sharks forward Barclay Goodrow slashing the back of his shin. According to the league, Neal skated an extra step before falling to the ice, drawing the two-minute diving call for him to compliment Goodrow’s two-minute slashing.

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