Poile worked throughout the week in an attempt to strike a deal with Vegas General Manager George McPhee, but in the end, the Nashville GM realized he was going to have to part ways with Neal.
"With how well we played in the playoffs, I'd certainly like to bring everybody back, but the prices [to make a deal with Vegas] were very high," Poile said. "[McPhee] was looking for younger players or high draft picks, and at the end of the day, I just felt that we had to do what the Expansion Draft was set out to do and that was to lose a player.