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.
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.