Personally, I think Lucic was underutilized in the playoffs. I wanted to see him in front of the net on the PP getting in Smith's face, especially after the whole boarding incident.
Lets not forget the impact Lucic had in the Dallas series with Benn.
As for this year. The only thing I expect of him is for him to play hard and continue doing what he did last year. I think this is going to be a better team than last years and Lucic is going to play an important role in that.
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IMO, Lucic's #1 attribute at this point is his presence in the room. I thought he faded through the season last year and I would prefer to see him dress 40-50 games.
With Gudbransen gone he needs to ensure he is still the deterrent when guys like Benn, Kane, etc try and go after our stars. I expect this to still be a tough team but it will be interesting to see how different it will be without a super small forward like Gaudreau or a guy like Tkachuk on the team.
My 2 favorite Lucic moments from the playoffs last year was when he rocked McDavid in game 1 and when he took the face off against Benn after he was targeting Tkachuk in round one and Benn slowed his antics after that
Yeah, that was my favorite moment as well. I was so excited that he'll crush those Oilers throughout the series. But after that one hit, he seems to just kind of shied away from McDavid. I was hoping he would continue to hit McDavid shift after shift. I don't remember he ever get near McDavid again. Mind you, my short term memory is gradually fading, he might have and I just don't remember.
I want him to be understanding when we need more speed in a game than the toughness. Meaning, this is an opportunity for a youngster to go and grab that 4th line wing spot if they’re better than Lucic. Don’t be a liability on your end, able to hold your own in the o-zone, maintain possession in the neutral zone, etc. If you can’t then I’ll stick with the veteran that sticks up for our guys and gives it 100% on the ice, even if he’s a liability on the ice most of the time.
I think Looch's presence makes everyone 3 inches taller on the ice. He's a leader, and a force. I think we sign him to another contract after this year, at a much more reasonable AAV.
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He's 34, and his role doesn't require a lot of quickness, so being a year older doesn't seem like a big deal to me as long as he's healthy. I think he could have a great year at being what he is. Contract year too, so unless he's planning on retirement this could be a big motivator for him. He seems to me like a guy that will still want to be a contributor and leader in the NHL next year, so he'll be playing to still have an opportunity for that.
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"If stupidity got us into this mess, then why can't it get us out?"
Personally, I think Lucic was underutilized in the playoffs. I wanted to see him in front of the net on the PP getting in Smith's face, especially after the whole boarding incident.
Lets not forget the impact Lucic had in the Dallas series with Benn.
As for this year. The only thing I expect of him is for him to play hard and continue doing what he did last year. I think this is going to be a better team than last years and Lucic is going to play an important role in that.
When listing reasons why the Flames lost in round 2, "Milan Lucic being underutilized" is probably on page 9 with other reasons like "played during wrong lunar cycle".
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When listing reasons why the Flames lost in round 2, "Milan Lucic being underutilized" is probably on page 9 with other reasons like "played during wrong lunar cycle".
We lost four straight, so it certainly wouldn't have hurt.
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The Delhi police have announced the formation of a crack team dedicated to nabbing the elusive 'Monkey Man' and offered a reward for his -- or its -- capture.
