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Cecil Terwilliger · 07-20-2019, 12:47 PM

I think part of the problem is that we keep looking at this from the perspective of “winning” the trade by getting the best player. It reminds me a bit of the Hamilton to Canes deal.

The amount of success the player who was shipped out has with his new team is largely irrelevant.

I honestly don’t care if Neal scores 40 playing with McDavid, on the condition that the Flames finish higher in the standings and make it further in the playoffs than the Oilers.

I also don’t care about buyout or expansion implications. If the Flames wanted to buyout Neal they would have and they obviously didn’t want to do that. I also am banking on Lucic not screwing the Flames and BT being smart enough to negotiate with Lucic that he’ll waive.

All that matters to me is that Lucic helps the Flames more than Neal would have. Obviously with all the excuses being thrown out to explain Neal’s awful performance last year, there’s a lot of guessing involved in whether he would’ve been better with the Flames next year. But even if he was, and that’s a massive if, I don’t want a player to be forced to play here if he doesn’t want to be here.

So all my focus is on Lucic. If he is terrible in Calgary, then we lose this trade, regardless of how well Neal performs. I don’t want to make Edmonton better but what do I give a #### if they’re better as long as we’re better too? The addition of James Neal to that embarrassing tire fire does not make them a contender.

I think Lucic will make the Flames better, by how much remains to be seen. Good riddance to James Neal. He’ll join a long list of UFA signing failures by the Flames in recent years.

07-20-2019, 12:47 PM	#1556
Cecil Terwilliger That Crazy Guy at the Bus Stop Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Springfield Penitentiary Exp:	I think part of the problem is that we keep looking at this from the perspective of “winning” the trade by getting the best player. It reminds me a bit of the Hamilton to Canes deal. The amount of success the player who was shipped out has with his new team is largely irrelevant. I honestly don’t care if Neal scores 40 playing with McDavid, on the condition that the Flames finish higher in the standings and make it further in the playoffs than the Oilers. I also don’t care about buyout or expansion implications. If the Flames wanted to buyout Neal they would have and they obviously didn’t want to do that. I also am banking on Lucic not screwing the Flames and BT being smart enough to negotiate with Lucic that he’ll waive. All that matters to me is that Lucic helps the Flames more than Neal would have. Obviously with all the excuses being thrown out to explain Neal’s awful performance last year, there’s a lot of guessing involved in whether he would’ve been better with the Flames next year. But even if he was, and that’s a massive if, I don’t want a player to be forced to play here if he doesn’t want to be here. So all my focus is on Lucic. If he is terrible in Calgary, then we lose this trade, regardless of how well Neal performs. I don’t want to make Edmonton better but what do I give a #### if they’re better as long as we’re better too? The addition of James Neal to that embarrassing tire fire does not make them a contender. I think Lucic will make the Flames better, by how much remains to be seen. Good riddance to James Neal. He’ll join a long list of UFA signing failures by the Flames in recent years.