There are a lot of issues with regards to this trade so I will touch on them quickly if I can. I don't like this for a lot of reasons but I don't know the full details of everything behind the scenes either.
Milan Lucic is a player who appears to be losing his legs and his hands as he get's more miles on him, it's not his fault and there is very little he can do about it. This isn't a situation where he isn't in shape, can tinker with his offseason program and come back and become lights out. His game was always a heavier game and he was able to score while not being a great skater. In 2019 you need to be able to skate and skate hard, he can't and he can't fix that. He's listed at 230 lbs I believe and hes a LEAN 230 lbs, he can't get to 205 to improve his speed etc. He is who he is and will continue to fade all while wearing a Flames jersey and the Flames MIGHT by him out with his lower cash owing on the books. He might be selected by Seattle as well.
James Neal's situation is that he didn't come into camp at the proper shape and mental state for the game, end of story. My concern always going in was the effect of back to back Cup finals losses, that wears on somebody physically, mentally and is a killer for confidence, and it SHOWED!
Other players who had very short off-seasons and actually won the cup always talked about how hard it was to get ready. Toews, Kane, Brown, Kopitar, Richards, Carter, Kessel etc. Your body needs a break and the thought of doing what you need to do makes you feel awful.
James Neal needed a kick in the butt, a long offseason to feel better, workout and fall in love with the game again and on a team that has a lot of promise like the Flames. His issue with a conditioning one which in his case lead to a loss of playing with top tier players as well, no offence to Janko etc but playing with RNH or McDavid will be a different situation.
I fully expect Neal to bounce back and have a really really good season because his issues were correctable in some ways and I think Edmonton knew it. Lucic's just can't do anything on his front on the physical side, it is what it is. Even his "grit" that everybody keeps talking about probably won't show up. Everybody in Edmonton was freaking out because he wasn't protecting $100 million McDavid, arguably a top 3 player in the entire world. He's suppose to come to Calgary and break his already broken neck back & nose for Eat Bread and Vali??? I dunno, seem's like a lot of ask.
Just my $0.02 and I HOPE I am wrong on every single level
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