Roundtable reaction: Oilers trade Milan Lucic to the Flames for James Neal

VANCOUVER, BC - OCTOBER 7: Loui Eriksson #21 of the Vancouver Canucks and Milan Lucic #27 of the Edmonton Oilers skate up ice during their NHL game at Rogers Arena October 7, 2017 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Vancouver won 3-2.  (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images)"n
By Eric Duhatschek
Jul 20, 2019

If you ever wandered into the Calgary Flames’ dressing room last season, looking for James Neal, you’d find him stashed away in the far corner, the very last locker stall in the room. It’s not exactly where you’d expect to go searching for a player who was originally signed to provide a leadership voice and a winning pedigree to Calgary, based on Neal consecutive Stanley Cup final trips over the past two seasons.

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For whatever reason – chemistry, a poor fit with potential first-line mates Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan or simply the inability at the age of 31 to rebound from two long seasons and two short summers – Neal was never a fit in his now one-and-only season with the Flames. He was supposed to be a central piece in the emerging leadership group of the team.

Instead, he was a peripheral figure, literally and figuratively, on a team that won the Western Conference regular-season title, without any meaningful contributions from their expensive free-agent add.

On Friday, Neal was traded to the Edmonton Oilers for Milan Lucic – a move that hopefully can continue to revitalize the too-long dormant Battle of Alberta.

(Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports)

The Oilers retained 12 and a half percent of Lucic’s $6 million annual salary (Calgary is paying Lucic $5.25 million, while Edmonton is paying Neal $5.75 million). The Flames will also get a third-round draft choice if Neal outscores Lucic by 10 or more goals next season.

But really, this is a clear case of two players, both desperate for a change of scenery, being traded for one another.

No one can reasonably expect that at their respective annual average salary numbers – $6 million for Lucic, $5.75 million for Neal – that they can deliver performance at that compensation, probably ever again.

If you wanted to evaluate the deal on the basis of that alone, then you may be disappointed. There is no magic wand to roll the clock back on Father Time. The goal of both organizations is to wheel out a player that isn’t helping in one location for a second player that could deliver greater value.

Not great value. Just greater value.

It’s an important distinction.

Philosophically, I have long believed in the value of the lateral trade – where players that can’t find any traction with one team get a chance to discover it with another.

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Neal will, almost certainly, rebound from a 19 points-in-63 games season because he will get a chance to play a top-six role on an Oilers’ team in need of quality wingers. I’m told Neal is spending the summer, not just working out with Gary Roberts, but living at his place for a time, in order to ensure that he doesn’t duplicate the worst year of his professional career.

Lucic, on the other hand, still remains one of the most physically imposing players in the game. It’s odd and maybe curious and even a little bit ironic that the Flames turned their attention to signing Neal only after a tentative deal they believe they had struck with his fellow Vegas Golden Knight, Ryan Reaves, unraveled at the 11th hour.

The Flames wanted Reaves’ heft in their lineup last season – and didn’t get it. When motivated and on top of his game, Lucic offers many of the same qualities as Reaves, with the potential that if he ever discovers even a fraction of his scoring touch, he might be able to contribute – even just a little – on the offensive side of the equation. Lucic, of course, is friends with former Flames’ star Jarome Iginla – they played on a line together for a time with the Boston Bruins – and Iginla gave Lucic a positive report on the city, the organization and where the Flames hope things are headed. Nothing is ever guaranteed in sports, but sometimes, there is a risk worth taking. This is one time where that absolutely applies.

Craig Custance: On Thursday, at a coaching conference, Sharks bench boss Peter DeBoer was breaking down San Jose’s Game 7 comeback win over Vegas and one of the first things he mentioned was just how important physicality was in a playoff series like this. He specifically highlighted the impact Ryan Reaves had against the Sharks when they played Vegas previously. He jokingly acknowledged that his point of view might draw backlash, but it didn’t change his opinion that you still need physical, intimidating players to win in the postseason.

Last week, colleague Eric Duhatschek mentioned just how close the Flames were to signing Reaves last year, hinting at what Calgary thought was missing in their lineup. If you’re wondering why they’d make a trade that doesn’t look great on paper, start there. When you’re trading two bad contracts, the most likely scenario is that this doesn’t work out particularly well for either side. That’s the safe bet. But if Lucic can regain his form at all, he may end being a better fit in Calgary than Neal was ever going to be.

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Jonathan Willis: For most of the last two seasons, Milan Lucic and the Edmonton Oilers have been shackled to each other. Lucic has proven unable to live up to the lofty expectations that came with his past accomplishments and $6-million price tag. The Oilers, by virtue of his no-trade clause and signing bonus-laden contract, have been either unable to move him elsewhere, or, as persistent rumours suggest, unwilling to do so at anything resembling a penalty.

The dismissal of Peter Chiarelli and hiring of Ken Holland has at last broken the impasse. Holland, despite his conservative reputation and limited recent history of making player-for-player deals, has ended an untenable situation.

He did so at a steep cost: taking on James Neal’s unpalatable contract, retaining money and including a conditional draft pick. All of these sacrifices are worthwhile. In Neal he brings back a player with a better chance of recovery and a less ironclad pact. It should be a good move for Lucic; almost unquestionably it is a good move for the Oilers.

Daniel Nugent-Bowman: Ken Holland promised he’d use the trade route in his an attempt to improve Edmonton’s forward ranks. Boy, did he deliver. This seems like a clear win for the Oilers. Milan Lucic is coming off two dreadful seasons and had no hope of playing as a top-six winger — even though the Oilers are starving for more of them and he makes $6 million. James Neal’s 2018-19 season in Calgary was just as bad, so he isn’t the ideal return. But it was only the first time in 11 NHL seasons that he didn’t score at least 20 goals. The Oilers are banking that was an outlier. And he’ll get every opportunity to prove it was with regular shifts next to either Ryan Nugent-Hopkins or Connor McDavid.

(Top photo: Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images)

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Eric Duhatschek

Eric Duhatschek is a senior hockey writer for The Athletic. He spent 17 years as a columnist for The Globe and Mail and 20 years covering the Calgary Flames and the NHL for the Calgary Herald. In 2001, he won the Elmer Ferguson Award, given by the Hockey Hall of Fame for distinguished hockey journalism, and previously served on the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee. Follow Eric on Twitter @eduhatschek