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JTech780 · 07-21-2019, 02:55 AM

The more time that goes on the more I like this trade. At first I had the same reaction that just about any Flames fan had, stunned silence, followed by "Why?" 30 times. Don't get me wrong I was excited to be moving James Neal, as in my opinion he just had the worst season in Flames sweater that I have ever witnessed from any player in Flames history, like the guy didn't do a single positive thing for an entire season. My shock was that we were getting Milan Lucic, the owner of the worst contract in the NHL, why would we want that? Add in the fact that he comes with all that Oilers stink and his ability to play hockey is all but gone. Then I started to take a closer look, beaches there had to be a good reason to make this trade. I really needed there to be a good reason, I share an office with an Oilers fan and I really don't want to have to deal with "How's Lucic working out for you guys, haha" or "Neal scored again last night, haha" for the next 4 years.

So when I looked closer I found that over the course of the last two seasons that Neal and Lucic have both put up 40 points at 5v5, and over that same time frame that Neal only has three more points on the PP than Lucic. At the same time Lucic has been a better possession player with worse zone starts than Neal.

After that I started to look at the fit of both players on this roster. Anyway you look at it, Neal wasn't a fit in Calgary, he wasn't last year and it more than likely wasn't going to change next season. If Neal isn't playing in your top 6 then he really isn't effective, one could argue that he isn't effective in the top 6 either but we will let the Oilers figure that out on their own. Lucic provides a missing element and fills a role in the bottom 6 something Neal doesn't.

I get that people are worried that Neal might return to form in Edmonton, and he might but I really don't think that should be a worry. Even if Neal does go back to being a 20 goal 40 point player that he was before coming to Calgary, he wasn't going to be that here, and those aren't exactly huge numbers. I think the fact that Neal will play in their top 6 says way more about Edmonton's complete lack of scoring depth than it does about Neal's ability.

At the end of the day I think we actually got the better player and saved a bit of cap space, so I see it as a win for us.

07-21-2019, 02:55 AM	#1801
JTech780 Powerplay Quarterback Join Date: Aug 2011 Exp:	The more time that goes on the more I like this trade. At first I had the same reaction that just about any Flames fan had, stunned silence, followed by "Why?" 30 times. Don't get me wrong I was excited to be moving James Neal, as in my opinion he just had the worst season in Flames sweater that I have ever witnessed from any player in Flames history, like the guy didn't do a single positive thing for an entire season. My shock was that we were getting Milan Lucic, the owner of the worst contract in the NHL, why would we want that? Add in the fact that he comes with all that Oilers stink and his ability to play hockey is all but gone. Then I started to take a closer look, beaches there had to be a good reason to make this trade. I really needed there to be a good reason, I share an office with an Oilers fan and I really don't want to have to deal with "How's Lucic working out for you guys, haha" or "Neal scored again last night, haha" for the next 4 years. So when I looked closer I found that over the course of the last two seasons that Neal and Lucic have both put up 40 points at 5v5, and over that same time frame that Neal only has three more points on the PP than Lucic. At the same time Lucic has been a better possession player with worse zone starts than Neal. After that I started to look at the fit of both players on this roster. Anyway you look at it, Neal wasn't a fit in Calgary, he wasn't last year and it more than likely wasn't going to change next season. If Neal isn't playing in your top 6 then he really isn't effective, one could argue that he isn't effective in the top 6 either but we will let the Oilers figure that out on their own. Lucic provides a missing element and fills a role in the bottom 6 something Neal doesn't. I get that people are worried that Neal might return to form in Edmonton, and he might but I really don't think that should be a worry. Even if Neal does go back to being a 20 goal 40 point player that he was before coming to Calgary, he wasn't going to be that here, and those aren't exactly huge numbers. I think the fact that Neal will play in their top 6 says way more about Edmonton's complete lack of scoring depth than it does about Neal's ability. At the end of the day I think we actually got the better player and saved a bit of cap space, so I see it as a win for us.