Quote:
Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache
Owners saved 10 million dollars. Cap hit went down. Neal was beyond awful. Paying Lucic is cheaper than buying out Neal.
So, you know, there’s that.
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How did the owners save $10M dollars?
Cap hit went down $500k. Depends what they do with that money before it’s a good move. If they turn that $500k into a $3M salary for Sam Bennett, that savings is irrelevant and contributes to another bad deal. The $500k needs to be turned into something of value.
Neal was awful last season, no doubt. So was Lucic. All the fancy stats in the world will not hide the fact that Lucic was one of the worst contracts in the league and it is unlikely that is going to change. In fact, for the Flames to get back a 3rd round pick, they need Neal to outperform Lucic by a good margin and be a successful player for the Oilers. Treliving just made a bet that Neal will be a better player than the one he just got, and that the Oilers will be a better team. That is the part that really was the kicker in this mess. The upside for the Flames just doesn’t seem to be there where this deal can work out.