The only response I can think of is "slotting".
Look at Neal as an oiler - top line winger, the best of the best. He couldn't manage much more than 3rd line here because we have some half decent wingers. Moves to Edmonton and he's the best there is. So he's going to look better, as it were, in Edmonton because of the slot.
Conversely, take a big lummox with moderate skill and put him in that top line winger role, he looks awful. Take that same lummox, put him in front of the net on a powerplay, keep him out sometimes while JG is getting slashed like crazy as a deterrent, maybe he can muck something up on the half boards and the skill guys, of whom the Flames have some, can do something. So you can make the most of a guy like Lucic if you have a spot for him that is a spot he can reasonably fill. Good teams aren't made of 6 identical defenseman and 12 identical forwards. It's about fit, yin and yang, roles, etc. Slotting. And Looch slots okay here. Is he gonna be amazing? Nah. But he's quite literally already done more for the Flames this year than Neal did last year. He punched Zadorov right in the mouth.
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