"Me and Mony have played together for four or five years now. We know each other really well on the ice, and Neal would just be a great addition to our line. Hopefully we can do some big things together."
Neal signed a five-year contract worth $5.75 million per season with the Flames on July 2 after scoring 25 goals for the Vegas Golden Knights last season. Neal has scored at least 20 goals in all 10 of his NHL seasons, with 31 three seasons ago for the Nashville Predators and a high of 40 with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2011-12.
Gaudreau had 84 points (24 goals, 60 assists) and Monahan had 64 points (31 goals, 33 assists) last season playing primarily with Micheal Ferland, who scored 21 goals. Ferland was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes with defenseman Dougie Hamilton for forward Elias Lindholm and defenseman Noah Hanifin on June 23.
Gaudreau also told the newspaper he is looking forward to playing for coach Bill Peters, who was hired to replace Glen Gulutzan on April 23. Calgary (37-35-10) did not make the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season, finishing 11 points behind the Colorado Avalanche for the second wild card from the Western Conference.
"That's what we need on our team, a coach that's going to push that team and make us better each day and I think he's the right man to do that," Gaudreau said. "I'm really looking forward to getting out there on the ice with him and learning his new systems and stuff like that. I think he's [going to] be a great fit for our team."
