Quote:
Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe
Call me crazy, but I do think there is some logic to a Lucic - Neal swap.
The caveat to my reasoning is that no player gets better, and Lucic agrees to lift his NMC, and modify it for only "NO AHL". He can be traded in the future to any team, and will not have to be protected in the expansion draft.
Why do I feel this way?
1) Lucic out-produced Neal last season. Sure, he got about 10 more games to do it, and it was only 1 single point, but Neal would not have out-produced Lucic by much anyway if given those games.
2) Neal dragged down every line-mate he played with. If that isn't addition by subtraction, I don't know what is.
3) What did Neal do well? He didn't add to the 'team speed'. He didn't drive possession. He wasn't good at getting to prime scoring areas. He didn't make the players around him better (see point 2). He didn't help to create secondary scoring chances where he amassed a bunch of uncredited assists. He didn't help on defence. He didn't play gritty. What he did add to the team - the only thing that I have ever noticed or heard about - was how he conducted himself in the room and helped young guys like Dube. I think this is actually a VERY important element to a team, and I don't want to understate that. Lucic - when he is not scoring - will at least hit and play gritty. He also goes to the front of the net and plays havoc. He sticks up for his teammates. Is that worth that horrid contract? Absolutely NOT, but at least he does 'something'.
Now, comparing those contracts, Lucic carries an immovable cap-heavy contract that is buyout proof. Neal's is not. That's a risk. The risk is mitigated somewhat with the addition of Puljujarvi, who I think may be salvaged in the right environment.
Now, if Neal does indeed bounce-back, then this is an atrocious trade that makes one sick to their stomachs. However, I just don't buy that Neal is going to have a bounce-back season. I just don't see it. I didn't see him do much at the beginning of games in the first moments of his shifts to think that it was purely a conditioning issue. I just saw a player that continuously made the players around him worse, and couldn't be bothered to try and contribute in other areas like being more physical (a gaping hole on the Flames), or at least trying to be more competent defensively.
I hope for that turnaround this season, but at this point, I would be open for that trade as it at least starts to address an area of weakness on this team (though some more grit/toughness in the top 6 would fill that need much better). If Neal comes back and does what he did last season, I will be kicking and screaming for a Lucic swap straight up.
But hey, on the bright-side, look how well the Flames did even with an almost 6 million dollar cap hit that not only didn't help the team, but actually dragged them down. That's really good when you think about, as Edmonton fans will constantly lament that their team sucks just because of one cap hit.
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Ok, look, I know we are unimpressed with Neal
Lucic got 74 shots on goal in 79 games.
Neal had 141 shots in 63 games, and an absurdly low 5 percent shooting percentage. 2.2 shots per game, off his recent years numbers which you may see around ~2.8
Even coming back to the low end of his recent normal 10-12 percent shooting percentage range, he should be much better than Lucic. And I think with confidence it will snowball a bit.
Sometimes players struggle the first 20 games or so with a new team, and Neal sure didn’t get out of that funk decisively. I don’t see any way he is possibly as bad as last year.
You can’t sell low if the return is way lower