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Old 07-20-2019, 11:36 PM   #1780
Brad Marsh
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One of the more interesting threads in a long time. I finally got caught up on reading all of the comments - lots to think about on both sides of this one.

First of all I agree with those who think it's a relatively minor trade. Two aging vets both struggling to find and fill meaningful roles on their teams. The trade is unlikely to move the needle much for either team.

Having said that, even if it moves the needle incrementally in the right direction, then it will have a positive impact on team success, and I believe this trade does that.

Trading Neal strikes me as the very definition of addition by subtraction. He was terrible last season. Many of us kept hoping all year that he would eventually get going, but it never happened. "Just needs time with a new coach and system" "Just needs more.time with a new team and new linemates" "Just not getting the puck luck but that will even out over the season" "Just wait for the playoffs and the re-set" etc, etc, etc. Instead, a full season and playoff run of uninspired play that ultimately did more harm to the team than good. Fortunately the rest of the team was good enough to compensate for the black hole that was James Neal. When he was finally scratched in game 5 of the playoffs you had to know that he was done as a Flame.

But he had no trade value at that point. Not at that salary level and term. And you certainly don't want to give up more assets in a cap dump. So Treliving had to find a swap like this one: problem for problem.

With the Oilers retaining salary on Lucic, the Flames come out well on this from a contract and cap perspective. The less than optimal Lucic contract is somewhat irrelevant because the less than optimal Neal contract was a sunk cost anyway. With the Flames actually gaining cap space, and losing probably their worst skater from last season, if Lucic brings anything positive at all, and he is likely to do that, then this is a win for the Flames, regardless of what Neal does in Edmonton. The Flames are likely to be better off as a result of this trade.

Bingo and others have referenced Lucic's advanced stats. They are solid. His hitting statistics are great. He brings alot of what this team has been missing the most, so I think the potential for him to add value to.the team is very high. Add to that his excitement to be a Flame, and the obvious motivation he brings with something still to prove, I think he will quickly become a fan favorite. As Troutman noted earlier in this thread, with Lucic coming to a better team, with better coaching, and better linemates, it is not out of the realm of.possibility at all that we see a mild resurgence from Lucic. I completely agree with that.

Lucic has always been an honest player with respect to effort and compete level. He will fit in well. I saw the Oilers live a few times last year and I can.assure you that other teams pay close attention to when he's on the ice. That intimidation factor is a real thing.

Now, when you factor all of that in with the $7M in actual savings over the life of these contracts for the ownership group, this trade is an absolute no-brainer.

Welcome to Calgary Milan Lucic!

Last edited by Brad Marsh; 07-20-2019 at 11:42 PM.
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