Rumor: Chiarelli expects Lucic to be back - and better

[Tasteless Beaver]

"Lucic is going to be back and better, because if he doesn't, I'm out of a job"...

 

[trellaine201]

Lucic is professional. He will try to be better, just not sure it’s possible. Unfortunate for the fans and they man who gave him this mammoth contract.

 

[nbwingsfan]

Did you not watch last season at all, they were a pretty good team. They were injury riddled all of this year, and had terrible luck. I'm 100 percent confident they will be battling for a spot next year and get back into the playoffs

Which has nothing to do with trading a Hart Trophy winner for a #4D with no offensive game...

 

[Alex Jones]

He's probably going to be better, but he's not going to be good...

 

[PuckinGood]

Which has nothing to do with trading a Hart Trophy winner for a #4D with no offensive game...

It literally doesn't. The oilers made it to the playoffs without Taylor Hall, and they can do it again. What is your point? To be a salty hater, because your GM was to dumb to trade for Hall?

 

[naruto]

Lucics gonna be back but he's gonna be just as bad.

Oil fans should just pray he doesnt get worse honestly....

 

[Uncle Scrooge]

Lucic just had 50 points a year ago. He just turned 30. He's healthy and was embarrassed this year.

Im not a fan of his but this narrative that he's 100% going to fall of a cliff and turn into a 4th liner for the rest of his career is something i don't understand. He might not be able to contribute as much as he used to but he can still bounce back and bring something positive to the team.

Paying to get rid of him at this stage is not smart, at least see where it goes from here and if down the line it becomes clear he's useless then it makes sense.

 

[mikeyp24]

I said next Clarkson when he signed and while the buyout proof contract of clarkson sucked at least he IRed out of the league (I wish nothing but future health for the man btw as someone who has a fused spine and 3 spine surgeries in 5 years before 30yo so I dont want it to seem I think its good just for cap and finacial reasons that kinda worked out). Lucic doesnt have a huge history of injuries and is in the end of prime years. I hope it doesnt anchor the team because it should be a great team but it might cost them 2 or 3 years of legit playoff experience for the kids. Not necessarily missing the playoffs but making it further.

 

[LTIR]

Lucic is not going to get any better

Yeh...he will go 28 more games before scoring a goal... as if!

Lucic can easily get back to scoring 20 goals while being a top 5 hitter in the league.

 

[Quiet Jack]

So what is the point of this thread exactly? To bash lucic and the Oilers?

 

[theMajor]

If Dustin Brown can improve his game, so can Lucic. I don't understand why everyone on these boards has to make fun of absolutely everything like a bunch of 5 year olds

relax dude, geez

 

[PuckinGood]

relax dude, geez

Perfectly calm, if I wasn't i would use the proper grammar and puntuaction to emphasize how angry I was. I'm simply just saying you all need to grow up

 

[Brock Radunske]

I would imagine he'd be better.
If he got any worse, he'd be playing 3rd line wing in my beer league.

 

[780il]

There's nothing in that article or what Chiarelli said in the press conference that says that Lucic is definitely not going be traded this offseason.

The first question regarding Lucic was if asked for a trade. Chiarelli said "No comment"

A follow up question was posed to Chiarelli: "If Lucic is back this season where is your confidence level at where he won't have a repeat of last year?"

Chiarelli replied and now I'm quoting from the score article...

"Really, conditioning for him is not really an issue. He has to be in the right frame of mind. He’s a proud guy and we expect to have him back at a better level than he was last year.”

In other words, Chiarelli expects him back at a better level than last year if he can't be moved. Also, how else was he supposed to answer that question. He wasn't going to say anything different.

Terrible article. Terrible Tweet. Terrible journalism on the Score.

Lucic stuffs starts at 4 minutes 35 seconds.

Yep, basically if he can't be moved the expectation is that bounces back next year.

 

[rynryn]

I'd be surprised if he wasn't better. I would still try very very hard for the rest of that contract to rid myself of it.

 

[north49er]

isn't he trying to lose weight this off season and gain speed?

Yes he is but unfortunately his feet can't keep up with his skill. Also, if he loses too much weight he won't be the pounding forward we've seen in the past.

 

[ManwithNoIdentity]

I miss going to laugh when he reverts to his old self and improves this next season while everyone eats crow

 

[nbwingsfan]

It literally doesn't. The oilers made it to the playoffs without Taylor Hall, and they can do it again. What is your point? To be a salty hater, because your GM was to dumb to trade for Hall?

The point is that they would be a WAY better team with a Hart Trophy winner over a #4D. If Crosby was traded for Matt Dumba and the Pens still made the playoffs, would you call it a good trade?

Also the Wings didn't/don't have any d above bottom pairing so no, I'm not "salty" about not getting a player we had no hope of in the first place?

 

[McFlyingV]

Lucic just had 50 points a year ago. He just turned 30. He's healthy and was embarrassed this year.

Im not a fan of his but this narrative that he's 100% going to fall of a cliff and turn into a 4th liner for the rest of his career is something i don't understand. He might not be able to contribute as much as he used to but he can still bounce back and bring something positive to the team.

Paying to get rid of him at this stage is not smart, at least see where it goes from here and if down the line it becomes clear he's useless then it makes sense.

Especially when you consider that he was on pace for his career norm prior to Christmas which was almost the halfway point of the season. I have no idea what next year will entail for Lucic or why his production went from almost a 60 point pace before Christmas to a 20 point pace after Christmas, but I do think its far too early to write him off and its entirely plausible that he bounces back as an ~50 point player.

 

[McFlyingV]

The point is that they would be a WAY better team with a Hart Trophy winner over a #4D. If Crosby was traded for Matt Dumba and the Pens still made the playoffs, would you call it a good trade?

Also the Wings didn't/don't have any d above bottom pairing so no, I'm not "salty" about not getting a player we had no hope of in the first place?

Well Hall would never win a Hart in Edmonton though because either a) they'd miss playoffs, or b) they'd make playoffs and therefore McDavid would win it. I agree the trade wasn't good, but Hall also hadn't topped 65 points in his last 2 years here so its disingenuous to think he would have had that type of season if he stayed, or that anyone could have predicted he'd have a season like that. Even in Hall's best years here he never came close to his level of play last season.

 

[Tobias Kahun]

Nothing. Nothing at all.

And when he says nothing, people still bash him.

 

[PuckinGood]

The point is that they would be a WAY better team with a Hart Trophy winner over a #4D. If Crosby was traded for Matt Dumba and the Pens still made the playoffs, would you call it a good trade?

Also the Wings didn't/don't have any d above bottom pairing so no, I'm not "salty" about not getting a player we had no hope of in the first place?

Are you seriously comparing Hall to Crosby? And no because dumba isn't a need for Pitts. Larsson was a need for Edmonton, It sucks Hall was traded for him, but he had attitude problems, and many other problems. One could argue that hall could have a stayed a whiny baby and done nothing in Edmonton, further hurting the team. Maybe it was the trade that made him realise he needed to change. Oilers could also afford to trade hall for larsson because they have the real MVP

 

[Perfect_Drug]

I'm an Oiler fan and I am ok with Lucic returning, and confident he will bounce back.

He was playing really well for the first half of the year, then the wheels completely fell off his game at Christmas.
For the First half of the season he had:
Games: 1-40
Points: 26

See for yourself:
Milan Lucic Stats and News

I hate to using the phrase "On Pace", but for the first half of the season he was producing as well as he had for the bulk of his career. Then after Christmas his game literally fell off a cliff.

GP: 41-82
Points: 8

This isn't some gradual decline. The chances of him bouncing back are pretty high. And I personally don't want Chia giving up a lot to get rid of someone who I consider to be a key player who had an off-40 games.

Before Lucic joined the Oilers, the Oil would constantly get rag-dolled, and rocked, and slapped around by the California teams. When we acquired Lucic, we BECAME that team that started slapping other teams around, and physically dominating them.

Truth be told, we simply need Lucic from the first 40 games last season. He's shown he can play at the level we need him to play at.

 

[A1LeafNation]

Chia: Jesus Ala Bhudda ...I love you all. Now make Lucic better.

 

[Mike Jones]

This is what happens when you legalize weed.