I am sure it has been covered in depth but
a) We do not have this same roster without the salary savings dealing Neal...the Tkachuk signing would have meant slightly different roster.
b) Neal was never going to get the minutes he is getting in Edmonton and it is still only a few games in. He played top 6 minutes and didn't produce further pushing him down the lineup.
c) Neal could go on to score 50. I would rather have Lucic and make playoffs over being an Oiler fan and having Neal where they very well could miss playoffs despite the hot start. If Neal puts in 40 goals, it was just as unlikely as him performing as poorly as he did in Calgary and I expect it to push back to average, slightly below average the following year.
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