Quote:
Originally Posted by MrMike
I could have probably picked up at least 2 assists this month in Neals spot on the PP.
|
That's probably not untrue.
Neal's assist comes at about 2:10. He goes to shoot, totally misses the messes up the shot. The puck goes behind the net, Chiasson recovers it, and feeds it around the board to Draisaitl, who banks it off the LA defender. Neal's contributions now consist largely of missing shots that get recovered by players that can actually skate.
Neal hasn't had a goal in 6 games, and has only 2 in the last 14 games. IMO, it's only a matter of time before the coaches realize they'd be much better off with another player, like Chiasson, that can actually chase down pucks for Draisaitl/McDavid, and Neal loses his prime spot on the #1 PP unit, which should pretty much put a bookend on his career. The coaches are giving Neal a long leash to justify the trade, but that will end as soon as the schedule and probability odds catch up with the Oilers and their playoff spot becomes tenuous.
Neal will get bought out. Of course, we'll still have to hear about what a great trade it was, as their player can be bought out. Nevermind the actual math, which when the retention of $750k and the cost of a replacement roster player is taken into account doesn't actually save much from what the Flames are paying Lucic, who looks like a solid, yet horribly overpaid, contributor.