Quote:
Originally Posted by Resolute 14
And he did it for years and years without McDavid. The Chiasson argument is just a bad look, honestly.
His shooting percentage will obviously come down to earth. But honestly, people are just going to have to accept the fact that Neal is likely to do for Edmonton what we expected him to do here.
|
I don't entirely agree with this. Sure, some people may be over-stating the argument, and you can't simply disregard Neal on those grounds, but there is definitely such a thing as opportunity, and one player getting that opportunity means another doesn't.
You can't simply say 'if Neal scores 30, they are 30 goals better than last year'. A significant factor in him potentially scoring 30 (or 20, or whatever) is getting opportunities to play with top players and on the PP. Last year, Chiasson got those opportunities, as did Kassian, and both of them had career years.
This year, Neal is going to get those opportunities at the expense of Chiasson (and Kassian to an extent), meaning his goals (some of them at least) will come at the expense of Chiasson and Kassian.
That is neither rocket science, nor just wishful thinking on the part of Flames fans.
I just posted some depth scoring numbers in another thread, and it shows just how inept the Oilers actually are. And that ineptitude also means there is a huge opportunity for anyone with any kind of ability to chip in some offense. Neal will get that opportunity, and as a result, put up some points. But that does not negate the huge holes in his game.