Confirmed Trade: [CGY/EDM] James Neal for Milan Lucic (12.5% retained) and a 2020 conditional 3rd round pick Part 2

[mvp1977]

Holland absolutely slaughtered pizza boy.

Who is pizza boy anyways?

 

[ManofSteel55]

And Flames fans still hate it.

Oiler fans should hate it as well but they are so desperate to spin it positively that they are delusional about the deal.

We don't hate it because the win is getting rid of Lucic's contract.

 

[mvp1977]

Yeah, its rough. Kassian is only up there because he played strong with McDavid and Draisaitl to end last season. Chiasson scored a ton in the first half last year but dried up. Nygard and Benson are question marks at the NHL level. Gagner should be 3rd line.

Gagner should be in the AHL at best. Probably better suited for a beer league

 

[Baxterman]

We don't hate it because the win is getting rid of Lucic's contract.

And the loss is taking on Neals contract.

The move is a lose-lose deal with no winners because both players and contracts suck.

 

[mvp1977]

We don't hate it because the win is getting rid of Lucic's contract.

But paying Neal 6.75 per. In case you didn't realize, this isn't a good thing

 

[Skolman]

And the loss is taking on Neals contract.

The move is a lose-lose deal with no winners because both players and contracts suck.

After Neal scores 20+ this year, will you still think this?

 

[Baxterman]

After Neal scores 20+ this year, will you still think this?

Yes

After Lucic scores 100 I feel the same way as well.

 

[Zirakzigil]

Still not thrilled about this trade from Calgarys perspective. I expect Neal to bounce back to something around the 15-20 goal range. Dont think either team really wins in this. The Flames are at least saving some cap and getting a little bit of toughness back.

 

[Skolman]

Yes

After Lucic scores 100 I feel the same way as well.

That makes zero sense, but sure pal.

 

[Johnny Utah]

Neither side ends up that bad honestly but players only have three years left after this upcoming season. Three years is not the end of the year - could take them both 1-2 seasons to get adjusted and then it’s just 2-3 seasons left on older contracts.

 

[Baxterman]

That makes zero sense, but sure pal.

How does it makes zero sense.

You created a make-up unlikely to happen scenario so I replied with a similar made up scenario.

Neal is not a good player so I really don't care what he does next year. He is not going to bounce back because he doesn't have any talent left, so no I do not care if he scores 20, in fact that is probably a good thing because it means he was dragged around by McDavid all year rather than them having a good player there so the Oilers will be holding McDavid back.

I know Oiler fans have some sort of fantasy that Neal is a top 6 player and they got a big steal but there is a reason that on a team desperate for top 6 RW help Neal was never good enough to fill that role despite being given every chance to get it. There is a reason that despite the Flames being willing to give Neal away with other pieces there were no takers.

Neal is not a good player the fact he is on the Oilers is good enough for me because that is another bad player they have to play in their forward group.

 

[hockeyguy1967]

How does it makes zero sense.

You created a make-up unlikely to happen scenario so I replied with a similar made up scenario.

Neal is not a good player so I really don't care what he does next year. He is not going to bounce back because he doesn't have any talent left, so no I do not care if he scores 20, in fact that is probably a good thing because it means he was dragged around by McDavid all year rather than them having a good player there so the Oilers will be holding McDavid back.

I know Oiler fans have some sort of fantasy that Neal is a top 6 player and they got a big steal but there is a reason that on a team desperate for top 6 RW help Neal was never good enough to fill that role despite being given every chance to get it. There is a reason that despite the Flames being willing to give Neal away with other pieces there were no takers.

Neal is not a good player the fact he is on the Oilers is good enough for me because that is another bad player they have to play in their forward group.

He played 5 percent of his time with the top line. Hardly given every chance.

 

[4EDM14OIL93]

But paying Neal 6.75 per. In case you didn't realize, this isn't a good thing

Nice math

 

[syz]

Neal is at worst a marginally better player with a far better contract (no NMC, and not buyout-proof like Lucic.) Even if both players remain garbage, Neal is far easier for the Oilers to get away from than Lucic was. If nothing else it frees up a body they won't have to protect come the expansion draft.

 

[Baxterman]

He played 5 percent of his time with the top line. Hardly given every chance.

He was terrible on that line when there, terrible on other lines when playing there and bad on the PP.

How much time should he have been force fed on that line when he was constantly terrible?

He had every chance to play on that line, the Flames were desperate for top 6 RW help but he was not close to good enough to be there.

 

[McDavidCrushedLarkin]

How does it makes zero sense.

You created a make-up unlikely to happen scenario so I replied with a similar made up scenario.

Neal is not a good player so I really don't care what he does next year. He is not going to bounce back because he doesn't have any talent left, so no I do not care if he scores 20, in fact that is probably a good thing because it means he was dragged around by McDavid all year rather than them having a good player there so the Oilers will be holding McDavid back.

I know Oiler fans have some sort of fantasy that Neal is a top 6 player and they got a big steal but there is a reason that on a team desperate for top 6 RW help Neal was never good enough to fill that role despite being given every chance to get it. There is a reason that despite the Flames being willing to give Neal away with other pieces there were no takers.

Neal is not a good player the fact he is on the Oilers is good enough for me because that is another bad player they have to play in their forward group.

Quoted for future use.

 

[Skolman]

How does it makes zero sense.

You created a make-up unlikely to happen scenario so I replied with a similar made up scenario.

Neal is not a good player so I really don't care what he does next year. He is not going to bounce back because he doesn't have any talent left, so no I do not care if he scores 20, in fact that is probably a good thing because it means he was dragged around by McDavid all year rather than them having a good player there so the Oilers will be holding McDavid back.

I know Oiler fans have some sort of fantasy that Neal is a top 6 player and they got a big steal but there is a reason that on a team desperate for top 6 RW help Neal was never good enough to fill that role despite being given every chance to get it. There is a reason that despite the Flames being willing to give Neal away with other pieces there were no takers.

Neal is not a good player the fact he is on the Oilers is good enough for me because that is another bad player they have to play in their forward group.

Dude, you literally have no idea what you're talking about.

Neal barely played with Top Players in Calgary, shocker that you wouldn't know that...

So that's it, eh? When Neal bounces back you'll say it's because of McDavid and not because he's a good player. Got it. Very weak.

Embarrassing Cloudy, embarrassing.

I can't wait to come back to this at the end of the year.

 

[syz]

Even if Neal bounces back entirely because of McDavid, it would still be a feat that Milan Lucic couldn't manage.

 

[hockeyguy1967]

He was terrible on that line when there, terrible on other lines when playing there and bad on the PP.

How much time should he have been force fed on that line when he was constantly terrible?

He had every chance to play on that line, the Flames were desperate for top 6 RW help but he was not close to good enough to be there.

5 percent is not every chance. Every chance is McDavid dragging along Lucic's corpse for a year and on the PP while he lost the puck over and over. You sound like Oiler fans after the Hall trade. This is one of the worst trades of the last 5 years, if only because Neal can be bought our, Lucic cannot.

 

[Wretched Oil]

I really appreciate everyone who's saying the Oilers won this trade.

It's been a really long time, and I think most of us lost trust in managment.

Feels good man

 

[booyakasha]

Yes

After Lucic scores 100 I feel the same way as well.

Lucic will be lucky if he scores 100 points total the remainder of his 4 years.

 

[Menzinger]

Anyone thinking this deal has even shread of positivity for the Flames is either a fool or has their head buried in the sand.

Lucic is done as a player amd cant be bought out (or can but with no rea cap savings) What a disaster for Calgary.

 

[Llamamoto]

This is ridiculous. Are people seriously trying to say that this is a bad deal for the Oilers. Just a few days ago the same people were ranting about how bad Lucic is, and how he's the worst contract in the league.

- Neal is much better
- Neal is a much better fit on the Oilers
- Neal is a much better buyout
- Neal does not have a NMC
- Neal's had 1 bad year, not 2
- He's friends with McDavid, and played well with him in the all-star game 2 years ago.
- Neal played well under Tippet before.

Anyone saying that its a loss for the Oilers is kidding themselves.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

Anyone thinking this deal has even shread of positivity for the Flames is either a fool or has their head buried in the sand.

Lucic is done as a player amd cant be bought out (or can but with no rea cap savings) What a disaster for Calgary.

Their expansion draft scenario looks horrendous now too. Not sure who they will lose, but it'll be someone good

 

[Skolman]

Their expansion draft scenario looks horrendous now too. Not sure who they will lose, but it'll be someone good

No doubt.

He's also definitely not waiting his NTC.

After this deal was done he spoke about how important it was for him to go to a solid team that can compete every night.

Seattle won't have the success Vegas had.

I highly doubt he will want to go from bad team(for 3 years) to good team(for 1 year) to bad team(for 3 years)