Quote:
Originally Posted by Huntingwhale
I'm willing to give him another chance. Hoping for the best. But expecting the worst. There are countless examples of players throughout NHL history who have put themselves in a bidding war as a 30+ UFA, gotten themselves a nice overpaid contract, only to fail to live up to it and become an albatross to the team.
And it's not just the Flames who have done this. It's every single NHL team at some point. So really I hope Neal can bounce back. But I fully expect him to continue to just plain ol' suck. He's not a Selanne or an Iginla who have shown they can bounce back after down seasons. The playoffs were supposed to be his on-switch. Other then a few hits here or there, he did SFA. 19 points during the regular season. 0 points in the playoffs. A non-factor most nights. Sadly, he's our Lucic.
In the unlikely event he magically bounces back, you still trade his ass if his value is decent. But I'm pretty much done with being fooled on UFA day by these big name, 30+ year old players who never seem to show up when it matters.
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Same boat, mostly. He has 1 more year, but I'm going to be mighty shocked if this guy ever carries his weight.
Thankfully though, I don't think Neal affects our cap much (yet) which is the big difference between him and Lucic. It's irritating and disappointing that our $5-6M investment isn't panning out, but Tre didn't let that contract and player be the saviour and answer - there seemed to be an actual plan in place
. Turned out Neal was going to have a hard time
earning that #1 RW spot even if he had a good year.
If he plays it smart (knowing it could be another Bollig, Neal, Brouwer) I don't mind taking a flyer on a few guys like this to fill holes. Just avoid making that guy the answer to a big question, and letting his contract destroy any hope you have of filling a roster. I think, in the end, Neal in the locker-room (as was Jagr) was a good thing. If you can get a guy that actually earns his contract too? Paydirt.