Confirmed Trade: [CGY/EDM] James Neal for Milan Lucic

[JT Kreider]

Yeah 1 week ago I remember the consensus on this board was the Oilers had to give up Bouchard + unprotected 1st to get rid of Lucic for starters.

You didn't get rid of Lucic's cap hit though, so clearly the consensus was correct

 

[thaman8765678]

I have to apologize to Oilers fans. I said for weeks Lucic is untradeable and our dumb GM proved me wrong.

This truly is the darkest timeline to be a Flames fan.

 

[Soundwave]

Yeah. That's my point. Ken Holland is the most important acquisition the Oilers have made since Chris Pronger.

Exhibit A is unfolding in front of your eyes - I don't care what the Red Wings cap page looks like.

Holland also seems to learn from mistakes which none of the Oilers GMs specifically Chiarelli ever did, lol.

Holland passed on giving Nyquist or Fippula long term deals on July 1, which I thought he might given his history in Detroit, on the UFA market to retain cap flexibility 1-2 years down the line.

 

[TheNumber4]

Neal can't keep up with McDavid. He couldn't keep up with Sean Monahan. The Oilers make this move because they will get cap savings when they buy Neal out next summer.

Monahan sucks and isn't half the playmaker as McDavid though. Maybe Neal's best days are behind him, but if anyone is going to revive him a generational playmaker like McDavid would be the best bet.... especially compared to Monahan of all players.

 

[BatVader]

WTF is Calgary doing!?!?!

 

[Snakepit]

Lucic has zero hands, and has proven for multiple seasons that he doesn’t belong in the NHL. Neal still has good hands and had one bad season where he didn’t mesh with linemates and was poorly utilized by a coach who didn’t like him from day one.

Neal absolutely does not have good hands

 

[Soundwave]

You didn't get rid of Lucic's cap hit though, so clearly the consensus was correct

I believe the "consensus" was it would be the pick + Bouchard + a bad contract coming back.

 

[agent082]

Looks now like the NMC will be waived so with the salary retention I kinda get it

It is waived, but player can demand a new NMC to waive his old one. It's still unclear if he got a new one.

 

[DFF]

I have to apologize to Oilers fans. I said for weeks Lucic is untradeable and our dumb GM proved me wrong.

This truly is the darkest timeline to be a Flames fan.

You think Neal is tradable?

 

[GeeoffBrown]

If they try neal with McDavid the skating won't be the problem . McDavid is fine by himself on the rush and he has insane chemistry with drai .

Itll be if he can regain his shot/ ability to take a pass if he works for the Oilers.

I just think you guys need to temper expectations. You're getting a 20 point scorer not a 20 goal scorer.

 

[Snakepit]

Neal is easier to buy out and EDM gets out of protecting Lucic in the expansion draft. And the Flames get Lucic for 4 years.

All of those things help Edmonton. I still don't see how this helps Calgary at all.

There are other ways to handle attitude issues. This is the worst possible way. I mean - buying out Neal would have made sense to me.

I agree that Edmonton's situation improved but it doesn't change much for Calgary at all, definitely not enough to call it good or bad.

 

[DFF]

It is waived, but player can demand a new NMC to waive his old one. It's still unclear if he got a new one.

BT has to extra dumb to agree to a new one if that is the case

 

[McFlyingV]

You didn't get rid of Lucic's cap hit though, so clearly the consensus was correct

I mean if you want to go back through those threads you'll see numerous posters claiming Edmonton would need to add a 1st or Puljujarvi+ to swap Lucic for any of Eriksson, Neal, etc. Everyone continued to cite his NMC and the expansion draft as why no team would make the swap without Edmonton giving up massive amounts of assets.

 

[agent082]

We will see what happens but if Neal can somewhat keep pace with McDavid he should be good for getting 20 goals bounced off of him.

He is faster than Lucic, but he is slowest of your team.

 

[JT Kreider]

I believe the "consensus" was it would be the pick + Bouchard + a bad contract coming back.

A bad contract but not an equally as bad contract

 

[Snakepit]

It is waived, but player can demand a new NMC to waive his old one. It's still unclear if he got a new one.

I'd be amazed if going forward he has an NMC. That's what they're working on right now and why the trade isn't official yet

 

[Bertuzzzi44]

Neal can still bounce back, wouldn’t surprise me if he scored 30 goals playing with McDavid, whereas Lucic is arguably the slowest player in the NHL and can’t catch up to anybody to be effective. Win for the Oilers imo.

 

[vokiel]

Funniest trade of the summer

 

[Tobias Kahun]

You didn't get rid of Lucic's cap hit though, so clearly the consensus was correct

The consensus was we would need to give up a 1st + prospect to offload Lucic for an equally bad contract cause of the NMC.

That clearly didn't happen.

 

[Soundwave]

I just think you guys need to temper expectations. You're getting a 20 point scorer not a 20 goal scorer.

He's one year removed from an All-Star season too, my understanding is he was dealing with a hand injury for some portion of the season last year.

Even if it doesn't work, although I wouldn't be a big fan of it, a buy-out is an option that you can do whereas with Lucic his contract is structured to make it buy out proof.

And you lose Lucic's NMC which gains the Oilers an expansion protection slot.

I mean given the circumstances, there wasn't going to be a better deal for the Oilers and the Lucic conundrum than that.

 

[McFlyingV]

I have to apologize to Oilers fans. I said for weeks Lucic is untradeable and our dumb GM proved me wrong.

This truly is the darkest timeline to be a Flames fan.

Hey at least you're owning up to it. Strange trades like this happen all the time it's just a relief to be on the right side of it for once. I suppose it's possible Lucic could bounce back in the right situation, but nothing from the past two seasons suggests he will. He somehow completely forgot how to handle the puck or receive a pass, and even his puck protection game has been brutal because every time he's pressured he loses control of the puck.

 

[Snakepit]

Neal can still bounce back, wouldn’t surprise me if he scored 25 goals playing with McDavid, whereas Lucic is arguably the slowest player in the NHL and can’t catch up to anybody to be effective. Win for the Oilers imo.

Neal is no faster than Lucic though

 

[Seanaconda]

I just think you guys need to temper expectations. You're getting a 20 point scorer not a 20 goal scorer.

The thing is I'm perfectly fine if it doesnt work out and we just buy him out next year tbh. If he does work out then lucky us .

 

[Snakepit]

The thing is I'm perfectly fine if it doesnt work out and we just buy him out next year tbh. If he does work out then lucky us .

Absolutely.

Getting rid of Lucic is a win in itself, even though Neal will be no better it gets them out of the NMC situation and isn't buyout proof.

But there's no reason to believe Neal will be any more useful when it comes to on-ice performance

 

[McFlyingV]

Neal is no faster than Lucic though

Speed wasn't the reason Lucic couldn't fit with McDavid. It had everything to do with his mediocre shot, and poor puck handling skills. For example, Maroon did great with McDavid because he has a decent shot, soft hands, and protects pucks well. Maroon is probably a worse skater than both Neal and Lucic.