Ongoing thread for Neal/Lucic discussion

[FanIn80]

"You're always aware of where he is when you're out there against him. To be honest, he's gotten me a couple times in my career with some big hits.

"He's a presence out there.

"He's a guy, that when you play against him, you know where he's at all times. And he's a guy that can get to the front of the net and make things happen too.

"He plays the game hard and he plays it the right way."

"Playing against him, you know he's a really fierce competitor. He's a good leader, too, a guy who has won, who has been there and done it before," Giordano explained. "Everyone around the league knows how tough he is and that grittiness he can bring into your lineup.

"He's a guy that a lot of the players in the league, including myself, respect and I think he's going to be a nice fit into our team. It will be nice to have him on our side of the ice now.”

-Mark Giordano
https://www.nhl.com/flames/news/gior...ms/c-308305746

[868904]

Originally Posted by btimbit

Conditional Third the best player in the deal

Hopefully the conditional third can still improve. Hoping he can develop into a second or first!

[Wolfman]

[Canadianman]

What the ####.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by 868904

My reply was more of a joke and shot at Oilers fans. Don't take it personal.

I doubt there is a deterrent effect when it comes to Gaudreau, but I do think Tkachuk and Bennett will be much more annoying to play against next season when the Flames have one of the top 2 toughest guys in the league on the roster.

I'll always remember that time when Bieksa went after Tkachuk at a whistle, and Ferly came over and shut that down real fast.

We need Tkachuk and Bennett to play on the edge and play with swagger. If all Lucic does is help these two do that, then the trade can be favourable for the Flames.

There is probably going to be a handful of games next season where we are happy to have him in the lineup but on a game to game basis you just don't need a tough guy in the lineup every night so hopefully he has a bit of puck luck around the net and doesn't lose another step for another couple of years.

[metroneck]

Gonna have to dig deep to see the upside here...

Can anyone confirm it if the Lucic NMC is truly now void?

[868904]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

-Mark Giordano
https://www.nhl.com/flames/news/gior...ms/c-308305746

LOL, according to that article, Lucic led all Oilers in "Corsi For Percentage"??!!

That tells you how bad that team was. Or maybe it's an indictment on these advanced stats.

[kyuss275]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Chaisson basically doubled his goal production going from the Flames (one year of Capitals in between) to the Oilers getting a career high 22 goals. I know Flames fans are going to cling to Neal not bouncing back but it's virtually a certainty that he in fact does that as he's going to benefit from playing with McDavid and having a top 6 role. This is why the deal is so bad because Lucic couldn't play top 6 with the Oilers and they got a player in return that can and will play top 6 for them.

There is no chance Neal is going to be playing on the top line. When Mcdavid gets into the opposing teams zone neal will still be trying to pass the center line.


I don't think this deal is as bad as some make it out to be. Neal was never going to make top 6 on our team. 1st line is intact. The 2nd line goes against the opposing teams top line. Do people really think Neal and his "great" defensive play was going to paly with Backlund? Do i want Lucic..no ,but i rather have him on our bottom 6 than Neal.

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by 868904

LOL, according to that article, Lucic led all Oilers in "Corsi For Percentage"??!!

That tells you how bad that team was. Or maybe it's an indictment on these advanced stats.

Or maybe people let the fact he was an Oiler cloud their perception of him.

[Iggy Snipe]

This trade makes Calgary better.

Neil and Lucic are very comparable players, even in their primes, but I would argue Lucic was the more effective player. This is based off of how hard Lucic plays.

There is no doubt this trade makes Calgary tougher and meaner which is something we need in the playoffs which was extremely lacking and was noticeably a problem.

Calgary won the season Western conference last season getting absolutely nothing from James Neil. I don’t see how this trade doesn’t make Calgary better, it certainly can’t make it worse.

The Flames were better off without Neil in the lineup period. We basically just traded nothing for a guy who we know can help Calgary win in the playoffs....

Imagine if they could get Lucic going...

[btimbit]

Lateral move as far as on ice performance. I am enjoying seeing Oilers fans fall over themselves to anoint 6.5m Neal as a 30 goal scorer when he gets paired with McDavid

[Nelson]

PROS
-Lucic has a more positive effect on his team's ability to possess the puck
-Lucic is better defensively
-Lucic has a reputation for being big and scary, even if he does not actually fight very much
-Lucic does lay a lot more hits than Neal
-The trade gives the Flames $500K more cap space and a conditional 3rd round pick
CONS
-Neal is better at helping his team generate offensive chances
-There is likely more potential upside for the Oilers because of the chance of a resurgent Neal
-Neal has a much better penalty differential
-The worst part of it for the Flames is that Lucic has a NMc

[Gaskal]

He's slow and plodding and clearly in decline, but can still line up unsuspecting defencemen pretty good, likes to mix it up in front of the net, and can punch faces if need be. At 6'3 230lbs, that's a true heavyweight.


But god damn this contract sucks.

[CliffFletcher]

I'm okay with this. Both players are 3rd/4th line plugs good for 5-10 goals at this point. Salaries are a wash. Flames fans are just pissed because we told ourselves that Neal was going to come back rejuvenated next season and bounce back. The Flames braintrust thinks otherwise.

Lucic will at least stick up for teammates and give the roster a feared presence. Pretty clear the coaches did not like how Neal handled his reduction in ice time last year - the guy has a big ego and was not going to be a good fit in the bottom 6.

The signing of Neal was clearly a big miss for Treliving. But at least he recognized that and has moved on to salvage something out of the situation.

[GirlySports]

It's a good deal. Flames are tougher.

Neal is done.

[FanIn80]

"Initially, I thought no way - but no way - am I going to the other side of the Battle of Alberta," he concedes. "But after talking to Brad (Treliving), talking to Bill (Peters), talking to Geoff Ward who I spent seven years with in Boston, and some guys who'd played in Calgary, it seemed to sound like a place I wanted to go; where the fit was right.

"I had a great conversation with Mike Cammalleri and then one with Kris Versteeg. One of my best friends is Brian McGrattan.

"Then, of course, I had a really good talk with Jarome (Iginla). He told me what a great hockey town Calgary is, how much the people are behind the Flames. It's a fan base that loves seeing effort. They obviously want to win but regardless they love the heart-and-soul guys, the guys who give their all, who don't compromise, which I like to think speaks to the way I play.

"Jarome and I got to know each other really well the year we played together in Boston. We were linemates, we shared a lot of stories, went out to dinner together a lot.

"I like to think he knows me pretty well and that's why he took time out of his day to give me a call and help me with my decision. And he did help me make up my mind.

"I'm just grateful that I'm friends with one of the guys who I idolize most and that now I get to play for the team that he was most famous playing for."

-Milan Lucic
https://www.nhl.com/flames/news/play...al/c-308305740

[Hey Connor, It's Mess]

Both players are better suited for their news teams, for sure.

[Flamenspiel]

Originally Posted by neo45

Should have just bought out Neal and signed Ferland with the cap space created

Same cap hit the next 4 seasons essentially

Treliving really dropped the ball here by missing out on Ferland. Lucic was better than Neal last year but ideally neither is in your lineup.

Furland? Where would he have played? Lucic will make him disappear when they play the Flames.

[Gazza]

I don't know what happens in the locker room.
We can only speculate as to the personality dynamics on the team.
If it is true what a poster mentioned that Neal and Peters weren't on the same page, then maybe it is best to trade him. That kind of thing can affect an entire team.
At his salary and stats from last year, there were not going to be a lot of options for return.
There is a cost saving to this deal as well which is definitely appealing.
Also, I have seen a few players do well after leaving Edmonton. Johnson to Pittsburgh comes to mind a few years back.
We also just saw two win the cup with St. Louis that Edmonton couldn't wait to get rid of. So, here's hoping Lucic will have better success here.


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[btimbit]

Neal @ 6.5mil
Lucic @ 5.25 mil

Neither exactly give you the warm fuzzies but I know which I'd prefer.

Really want to know the details of the NMC though before I call this either way. One big bag of meh