Friedman: Lucic doesn't want to play in Canada anymore?

TFHockey

The CEO of 7-8-0
May 16, 2014
7,061
4,456
Edmonton
Obviously the situation surrounding Lucic is polarizing. I personally think he can and will return to 50 point form. He has some value if he does that even with a hefty contract. Here are my reasons:

1. Lucic plays a heavy style of hockey and a lot of posters have cited this as a reason for his decline... or that he will continue to decline because of the toll that kind of style takes on players. In Lucic's case that is LESS likely to happen than other power forwards. He has missed next to nothing for games in his career.. something like 4 in the last 5 years. No major injuries to slow him down. He also takes his fitness rather seriously.

2. Some posters have pointed out that the new NHL's run and gun style of hockey has no place for Lucic anymore. The game is too fast and he can't keep up and contribute. I would counter that after watching the playoffs (the most important games of the year for any club and against the toughest competition) players like Reaves and Wilson have demonstrated that isn't the case. Both were important factors in their teams reaching the finals.

3. Lucic's brutal season was not the result of physical issues, they were mental. Everything that happened with Milan this year was from his head. I can speculate about his wife and his life but I really don't know the facts there. It is enough for me to hear the Oilers say and it and for Lucic to say it.

4. Lucic's contract becomes a lot easier to swallow for budget teams after July 1st. This has been mentioned several times before. The cap hit remains the same but real dollars goes down.

That's my take, anyway.
 

Kranix

Deranged Homer
Jun 27, 2012
18,122
16,154
Players can be traded, they should be able to ask for a trade. They're all interchangeable parts.
 

justafan22

Registered User
Jun 22, 2014
11,629
6,249
FWIW:

“And that gives me the impression that this isn’t so much Edmonton trying to get rid of Milan Lucic as perhaps maybe more Milan Lucic suggesting a change of scenery, although everyone connected will not confirm that.

“To me the thing is who are the teams that liked him. You guys liked him, Florida liked him, Dallas liked him. Dallas invited him there, they were in there right at the end when Edmonton got him. I think you go to those teams first and say, ‘Okay, what’s the interest level.’ And then after that’s done you basically start calling everywhere else.
“One of the things that I’m kind of curious about is where does Lucic want to go. This is the tough thing that teams do complain about – the player’s got the power and he says, ‘I want you to trade me,’ and then he says, ‘Well, I only want to go here, here, here, and here.’ The one thing I haven’t figured out yet is he willing to go just about anywhere.
“I think he wants to get out of Canada. I don’t think he wants to play here anymore. I think that’s another situation where the wife has seen how much heat the player has taken, I think, and isn’t always comfortable with that. I think he wants to get out of Canada, but you’ve got to find a willing partner and even if I wanted Lucic I would be saying to the Oilers, ‘What premium are you going to be giving me to do it.’ “

LeBrun: Oilers absolutely in trade talks on Lucic
 

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