Simplifying the wording of the poll options did result in a different voting outcome for me as I chose "Love It" in the previous poll because I feel like Lucic is an upgrade over Neal (as per the "Love It" wording), and I chose"Like It" in this poll, but did so for the same reason: I feel like Lucic is an upgrade over Neal.
When I first saw the news break about the trade I couldn't believe it and my first response was to hate it, but I have since come to like the trade for the following reasons:
- the trade saves cap space
- the trade saves the team a lot of actual dollars
- Lucic has much better possession stats than Neal
- Lucic adds a physical dimension the team really needed
- Neal was arguably the worst regular on the team last year and trading him instantly improved the team
- Lucic actually had more points than Neal did last year. Yes he played in more games, which is actually another positive, but he also had inferior linemates. So not only do I think Lucic did more with less, but I also think there is potential that he does more with better linemates in Calgary. For this reason, I think Lucic is just as likely to bounce back as Neal is, especially when you consider Neal is moving to a worse team
- Lucic is genuinely excited to be here and wants to contribute to the team's success. He is saying all the right things and I like that.
- Because I can't imagine any scenario where Lucic adds less next year than what Neal did last year, I like this trade and think it improves the Flames
I don't love it because at the end of the day the Flames still have an underperforming veteran on a bad contract.
Why I initially hated the trade and why I think those reasons are not as valid now:
- I honestly don't think buying out Neal's contract was an option that Treliving had and so the buyout-proof nature of Lucic's contract is irrelevant. Plus the structure of the Lucic contract actually makes it quite tradable in the last 2 years.
- While it is true that Neal could bounce back in Edmonton, and might be a better bounce back candidate compared to Lucic, I don't think that would have happened for him if he was still a Flame. He just didn't find chemistry with any of his linemates and it became clear that Peters didn't trust him either. So Neal may bounce back (although I personally struggle to see that happening to any meaningful extent), but even if he does, I think Lucic next year will benefit the Flames more than what Neal did last year, and probably more than what Neal would have done if he were still on the team next year. So in that context it's a net positive for the Flames.
If Lucic comes in as a motivated, hard-hitting, and hardworking bottom six guy, he will quickly become a favorite among teammates and fans alike!