Player Discussion Can Lucic bounce back? Part II

[ThePhoenixx]

Discussion here.

Player Discussion - Can Lucic bounce back? Part II

 

[Porkleaker]

Short answer, yes. He's a lost cause.

 

[Porkleaker]

SMH.... seriously?
What the hell does Hossa have to do with this?

• Hossa was making 1M per season on the remaining years left on his contract while Lucic is making a helluva lot more
• Hossa wanted to retire while Lucic hasn't suggest anything of the sort
• Dermatologists and hockey players who previously retired because of the irritation brought on from this disorder have spoken out on how it's a ***** to deal with and yeah if your pockets are already laced with gold and you're only making 1M per season maybe it's not worth putting up with.

Nobody has come out and said that Lucic's back disease is the reason why he can't skate. The fact of the matter is that Lucic was never a fast skater and the game has changed quite a lot since he came into the league. When Lucic came into the league you could easily win with big, sluggish tanky teams as long as you managed team discipline. Those teams don't win anymore and yes the Lucic contract sucks, but that doesn't matter. Just that Lucic sucks doesn't mean that he has to retire. He didn't hold our team at gunpoint to get that contract. Our team was stupid enough to hire a GM stupid enough to offer that contract.

Lucic doesn't owe us the luxery of retiring just so that we can use the cap space to add much needed depth to our wings. So it's time to come up with a new pipe dream that involves us creating a ton of cap space without coughing up something valuable.

Considering how much he's being paid for how terrible he is, he kinda does owe us. Hopefully he take the summer to reflect and realizes that he's hurting the team and not helping it and goes on LTIR. It's either that or pressbox him for the rest of his career, he's dead weight and the team is better without him.

 

[smokersarejokers]

He's just too slow, man. Always a step behind the play.

He's quite good at cross checking young Swedish forwards behind the net though. Not sure that's worth $6 million...

 

[Joey Moss]

He's just too slow, man. Always a step behind the play.

He's quite good at cross checking young Swedish forwards behind the net though. Not sure that's worth $6 million...

Is it that he's slow or is it that he turns the puck over 20 times a game? Can't make or take a clean pass tape to tape? Doesn't have the awareness to look up before making a pass? Is never in position to shoot?

He is done here.

We would be better off buying him out and having 300k in savings from it than having him on the roster next season. He is a complete liability.

 

[Cypress]

He's horrible for his contract. Though he's still an effective NHL player, just paid 3 or 4 times as much as he should be right now. I don't expect him to ever rebound to what he was a few years ago, but you never know I guess. Maybe there's a way of offloading him at some point, but it's not really a realistic option. I think we moreso have to try to build around that handicap and wait for the cap to go up.

 

[82Ninety42011]

He can probably be a complimentary player on a playoff contender if motivated. However he is never gonna lead the Oilers anywhere he's too slow but can still be a force in spurts but within a year or two he will be even slower. Oilers are stuck with him barring a LTIR stint as no one is trading for him and Oilers be crazy to package a 1st with him to send him away as they need as many young kids themselves.

 

[space321]

Please don't insult turtles like that

 

[gordonhught]

Based on his current skill level, if Lucic was a rookie trying to get into the NHL today, he would never make it.

 

[Tyrolean]

A 4th liner making 1st line salary with a NMC, pretty sad . I vote Chia as the worst GM in history.

 

[SupremeTeam16]

I've been in his corner for two seasons now but he's not going to turn it around. He's been given every chance to improve his play, they've put him all over the lineup with pretty much every player on the roster and he hasn't looked anything close to the player he was for almost a decade. His confidence is gone, his legs are gone, he's washed and I'm pretty sure everyone knows it including Milan.

You have to think as well he's likely to have another terrible season next year then sit out a year for the lockout, what's he gonna look like after that? There's a chance that compliance buyouts are negotiated in the next CBA which would be ideal but if not I think you force him into LTIR. Tell him your options are show up every day, practice, travel with the team but you'll be spending the next 4 years in the press box or door number 2 is your back hurts and you stay home with your family and collect a check.

 

[Soundwave]

Am I crazy for thinking the "hunch" in his back has become more pronounced over the last little while?

Dude has a degenerative back condition, not maybe, not could be, it's confirmed by doctors. He is north of 30. Why are we so sure that condition isn't part of what's kicking in now.

 

[missinthejets]

Based on his current skill level, if Lucic was a rookie trying to get into the NHL today, he would never make it.

bullshit. If he wasn't paid 6 million per season everyone would love him. At this point his offense is nonexistent but he still plays a responsible physical game and that has value. Just not 6 million a year value. If he was Joe Smith on a 2 million a year deal to play in the bottom 6 he'd be a fan favourite.

 

[Soundwave]

bull****. If he wasn't paid 6 million per season everyone would love him. At this point his offense is nonexistent but he still plays a responsible physical game and that has value. Just not 6 million a year value. If he was Joe Smith on a 2 million a year deal to play in the bottom 6 he'd be a fan favourite.

People were crapping on Kassian for having Lucic like production until Zack got put on the McDavid line and turned it up and he gets paid $1.9 mill.

 

[Porkleaker]

bull****. If he wasn't paid 6 million per season everyone would love him. At this point his offense is nonexistent but he still plays a responsible physical game and that has value. Just not 6 million a year value. If he was Joe Smith on a 2 million a year deal to play in the bottom 6 he'd be a fan favourite.

Nah he'd never make it, all he's good for is hits, can't score, can't skate, too old and washed up. Nowdays you can find a player for less that'll at least fill more than 1 role, a role that's pretty outdated and useless.

 

[Tobias Kahun]

He's just too slow, man. Always a step behind the play.

He's quite good at cross checking young Swedish forwards behind the net though. Not sure that's worth $6 million...

"Cross checking"

 

[Mr Positive]

imo he could do well on a team that has a very mobile, puck moving defense that can make good point shots. With a defense like on the Oilers, too much offense is on the rush. Maybe Lucic is done either way, but imo the Oilers are the worst team for a guy like him, stylistically

 

[iCanada]

We really did lose Hall, Omark, Paajarvi and Eberle.

Idk if it was for Lucic in particular tho.

 

[alphahelix]

Lucic has as many problems with his brain and eyes as he does with any other part of his body. Last year he fired SO many errant blind passes out of the offensive zone and right back behind our net, it was utterly ridiculous. What does that have to do with slow legs or scoliosis? Nothing. But he does it. He also has brutal confidence and the whole situation is frankly just sad. Maybe he needs glasses and a cybernetic spine implant and blood doping and a skills coach, then maybe we could see a resurgence to 40 pt levels. He has had every opportunity, he even manages to make Toby Rieder less effective offensively. It sucks, but he cant play.

 

[alphahelix]

We really did lose Hall, Omark, Paajarvi and Eberle.

Idk if it was for Lucic in particular tho.

We also lost "FOUND" players like Maroon. We have cycled out plenty of useful players due to lack of space. Its bad.

 

[ZenOil]

Gonna guess that he probably has CTE kicking in and his damaged brain and older body are too slow for the game as a result. Probably a big reason power forwards decline so fast that no one wants to talk about.

 

[TopShelfGloveSide]

Lucic has as many problems with his brain and eyes as he does with any other part of his body. Last year he fired SO many errant blind passes out of the offensive zone and right back behind our net, it was utterly ridiculous. What does that have to do with slow legs or scoliosis? Nothing. But he does it. He also has brutal confidence and the whole situation is frankly just sad. Maybe he needs glasses and a cybernetic spine implant and blood doping and a skills coach, then maybe we could see a resurgence to 40 pt levels. He has had every opportunity, he even manages to make Toby Rieder less effective offensively. It sucks, but he cant play.

lol how can you make a player with zero goals less effective offensively

 

[alphahelix]

lol how can you make a player with zero goals less effective offensively

Reduce SOG and eliminate any possibility of getting an apple. LOOCH CAN DUIT

 

[MettleMcOiler]

So ironic to remember, when he was still in Boston. There were so many posters that would do anything to trade for him. "He is exactly what we need, the prototypical power forward".

now that we have him, we pretty much kicked him while he's down and struggling. This is the gist of his support.
" Low confidence my ass. Do something you worthless pylon. You make 6 million you useless excuse for a player" which is the feeling you get reading oiler fans posts about the player"
"He is paid millions! He is suppose to be pro, he is such a low IQ player, stone hands pile of ****, I wish he would just disappear"as you continue reading the pile on of loathing of a player that is desperate to find his game.
"I have no sympathy for a player lile him, he is no Taylor Hall, he's one of the reason we lost hall in the first place" as you firmly realize no one wants to support someone who fails but rather kick them while they are down. A sense of superiority of thinking they are better then someone because they fail to live up to expectations.
Not to say all fans are like this but what I've read over the years.
Their is a real toxic entitlement with fans here.
Is it true about the verbal abuse he gets when he is out with his family?
Twitter trolls?
Didn't someone mention somebody crashed into his house?
I believe there is a player there but I don't think that player wants to come out. Not for this city anyways. Not how he's been treated.
He'll play, but his heart isn't in it. We haven't given anything for Lucic to care about. He is just a player that needs to earn his paycheck right?
The struggling players need the most love. I have players I completely dislike, and I have called them out in their poor play.
But lucic, 6 million dollar anchor which most people label him is a different beast. 4 more years.
Imagine if he can become a 6 million asset again. People put so much effort in doubting, how about change it up a bit and put a little belief in him. It is no guarantee that we will be able to trade him.
Look at Sekera, he can still play even after all he has gone through.

Lucic is big, he is healthy and fit. Maybe as fans we can help fix the low confidence between the ears.
I say this for all our players. Even though I have been the first one to say they don't have talent to be better than they are.
But maybe I am wrong. And I just haven't been a good enough fan.

Might as well start now. I hope Lucic finds his game and Reider starts scoring and Koskinen earns his contract.


Management needs to be cleaned out though. This has to be done. There are no compromises about this to have a more positive environment for fans and players.

 

[Stoneman89]

Am I crazy for thinking the "hunch" in his back has become more pronounced over the last little while?

Dude has a degenerative back condition, not maybe, not could be, it's confirmed by doctors. He is north of 30. Why are we so sure that condition isn't part of what's kicking in now.

After seeing him smoke a couple guys last night, I doubt his back is an issue. You don't come into that kind of contact with a wonky back. His foot speed? Yes. His decision making because he can't keep up? Yes. His puck skills? Yes.