Quote:
Originally Posted by Nelson
PROS
-Lucic has a more positive effect on his team's ability to possess the puck
-Lucic is better defensively
-Lucic has a reputation for being big and scary, even if he does not actually fight very much
-Lucic does lay a lot more hits than Neal
-The trade gives the Flames $500K more cap space and a conditional 3rd round pick
CONS
-Neal is better at helping his team generate offensive chances
-There is likely more potential upside for the Oilers because of the chance of a resurgent Neal
-Neal has a much better penalty differential
-The worst part of it for the Flames is that Lucic has a NMc
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This is a succinct summary and how I feel about the deal. Thank you.
There is a net
very small positive to this deal, but the NMC is a big negative for one reason. If Lucic literally can't play in the NHL anymore say in 1 or 2 years, this will kill the team's chances to ice a good roster because we will have almost $6 million tied up in a 13th forward.
Can't trade him.
Can't bury him in the minors.
Can't buy him out.
I don't worry too much about this year, or even next.
But with 4 years remaining, I sincerely hope that Lucic maintains at least replacement level player quality of play, otherwise this could turn out to be truly terrible.