Quote:
Originally Posted by DFO
Has Neal been more of a drain than Lucic would have been had he stayed? No
Has Lucic improved the fortunes of the Flames over Neal? Debatable
For the Oilers Neal has absolutely been a net positive over Lucic.
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Would Lucic have been lining up on the second line with Nugget-Hopkins? No.
Will that “net positive” produced almost exclusively on the powerplay and on the strength of a wildly unsustainable shooting percentage carry forward into the grind of the season? Most definitely not.
I think you are either missing or intentionally obfuscating the point here: Lucic’s presence did not really have much effect on the Oilers #3 forward since he really did not play with him much. The Oilers #3 forward currently looks lost and invisible at ES through four games as he struggles mightily to keep his line out of the defensive zone. If he can’t be effective, the Oilers’s season is sunk. Neal’s presence on his wing will absolutely have a continued effect.
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