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Originally Posted by Shazam
He had six goals last year.
Six.
You're expecting him to more than double his production.
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Didn't Garnet Hathaway go from four goals to eleven last year playing with Mangiapane and Ryan? Hathaway, who unlike Lucic, had no business hitting double digit goals while Lucic has only fallen short of double digits once in a full season.
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With Sam Bennett. A player that got 14 assists last year.
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Fun fact, Sam Bennett's 5v5 First Assist rate of 0.75 would have ranked second on the Edmonton Oilers last year (800+ minutes). Now Draisaitl at 0.74 isn't meaningfully behind but point is, Bennett is a playmaker. Poor second assist totals don't change that fact. Even Claude Giroux has had seasons where the second assists were not there
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And with Derek Ryan, I guess? soyouresayingtheresachance.jpg
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The Mangiapane/Ryan combination catapulted Hathaway to a huge payday this offseason. A year ago I didn't think Hathaway even deserved a qualifying offer as an RFA.
Any way you look at it, his linemates have gotten quicker, more skilled, younger.
And the profound improvement in defensemen - Giordano, Brodie, Hanifin, Kylington, Andersson, Valimaki... this should not be overlooked especially for a guy like Lucic who likes to set up netfront and bang in garbage goals and tips.
Hockey's a team sport and Lucic is a decent bottom six forward who is moving to a much better team that has a vacancy for a big body like him in their bottom six.