Quote:
Originally Posted by Joborule
Flames could win the cup, and it still wouldn't be a good deal if Neal scores 30 goals.
Do not discount the importance of goals a player can produce. Trading him for a player who can't contribute offensively is bad asset management. That trade was under assumption that Neal wouldn't get his offensive prowess back. Neal is showing thus far that may have been foolish thinking.
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I don't believe this is at all true. After the trade Treliving spoke a lot about Neal getting more opportunity in Edmonton, about his being a poor fit in Calgary, and how Lucic addressed a need he could not fill. The entire reason for attaching the condition of a third-round pick on the deal was made precisely because the Flames saw the likelihood of Neal regaining some of his scoring touch. Lots of posters here have spoken about how they expect him to score +10 or +!5 this year.
The trade was under the assumption that Lucic and his terrible contract were more valuable to the Flames than James Neal. That is all.