There wasn't one comment I made that even suggests that I think Lucic is a good player. I'm just excited that he might try and fight a goalie. Just that possibility makes him a better hockey player than Neal.

What exactly are you expecting Neal to bring to the Oilers that's better than goalie punching? Oilers fans seem to be excited that Neal could score 20 goals. Every player earning an NHL paycheck, except maybe Lucic, could score 20 goals playing with McDavid. And if Neal isn't playing with McDavid, he'll be a detriment to the team in every possible way.
- Hunkulese

This is true

If Neal poops the bed this year we can buy him out at a reasonable number... Lucic is buyout proof... that alone makes Calgary the loser.
- Reveen.

No. Both teams lost that trade. Calgary got someone to fight goalies and he's cheaper, so they lost slightly less.

Still think koskinen takes starters role and plays great this year...our d will me way more mobile and productive with added depth...nygaard and Haas speed will prob net them 10-15 each...Neal scores 25-30 with our top centers...he is a top line guy and last year had a coach who didn't give him a chance...Tippett is a better coach and will have Neal playing off our great center depth...Neal needs to be with a team with top centers not soft perimeter players who can't compete in tough situations...
- oil90

Man I love the enthusiasm. I remember being excited about Neal as well. Good times!

Wow was that a pile of garbage to read. You are easily one the biggest fan boys on this site. A little objectivity would go a long way with you.
- Ihatebrianburke

Thanks for reading.

No question Holland done the impossible and actually found a sucker to take Lucic's contract. Bonus is he never had to give away prospects or a 1st round pick. You have to wonder if the worst GM is Chiarelli for signing that deal or Treliving for now owning it.

Neal will get 20 goals and be the rebound person in this deal. If not, can be traded or bought out easily. Holland done all this and it only cost him 500k year for 4 years.

I think Oilers fans will be shocked at how slow Neal is.

44 points and -11 on a first place Vegas team. He was showing signs of falling off a cliff before last season's debacle.

I think Oilers fans will be shocked at how slow Neal is.

44 points and -11 on a first place Vegas team. He was showing signs of falling off a cliff before last season's debacle.
- flashfire

He probably is Lucic slow. That's fine. Still scores 20 goals.

Not that!!

Thanks for reading.
- freelancer

I think he was responding to a post from Hunk. Quotes are glitching.

Those are not predictions, they are fantasy

Edmonton will miss the playoffs again and McDavid will finally request a trade out of the eternal dumpster fire.

He probably is Lucic slow. That's fine. Still scores 20 goals.
- Elijah888

A PTO did that with McDavid though...not sure how it helps the Oilers.

Anyway, Neal is no faster than Lucic...seems many fans just look at stats and have no clue.

Both guys are probably a better fit with their new team...Neal might score again but he wasn't a useful 3rd or 4th liner

No question Holland done the impossible and actually found a sucker to take Lucic's contract. Bonus is he never had to give away prospects or a 1st round pick. You have to wonder if the worst GM is Chiarelli for signing that deal or Treliving for now owning it.

Neal will get 20 goals and be the rebound person in this deal. If not, can be traded or bought out easily. Holland done all this and it only cost him 500k year for 4 years.
- Elijah888

Traded easily lol...750k per year fyi

He probably is Lucic slow. That's fine. Still scores 20 goals.
- Elijah888

Why do Oilers fans keep saying this like it means anything? Chiasson got 20 goals with McDavid time. Kassian got 15 with McDavid time. Neal is a far bigger detriment to a team than Chiasson or Kassian. Neal will be lucky to beat 5 goals if he doesn't get McDavid time.

What exactly are you expecting Neal to bring to the Oilers? Sure, he might get 20 goals, but he's slow, he doesn't defend, he's heartless, he's gutless, and he whines. It's not a coincidence that every team he's played for has given up on him.

This might be the most clueless I've ever seen Oilers fans. At least Calgary knows Lucic doesn't bring anything except face punching. Neal has the worst contract in the NHL. Treliving should have lost his job over the Neal contract, but he someone miraculously got out of it and managed to save money. Even if Lucic is a healthy scratch for 74 games, it's better than having Neal.

It's not a win for the Oilers that they can pay him a bunch of money to go away. If they buy him out next year, they're paying Neal and Lucic for the next 3 years not to play for them and then Neal an addition 3 years at 2 million. Great move Holland!

Wow what ever your in share !! Or are you just being stupid to get a reaction??

Wow what ever your in share !!
- Hockeyfan4life14

You tried. goldstar.jpg

Traded easily lol...750k per year fyi
- flashfire

Can be traded a hell of a lot easier than Lucic and his NMC. And it is 500k. If they were still burdened with Lucic's contract it is 6m cap hit. Now they have 6.5m cap hit. They sacrificed only 500k a year to dump the unmoveable contract.

Why do Oilers fans keep saying this like it means anything? Chiasson got 20 goals with McDavid time. Kassian got 15 with McDavid time. Neal is a far bigger detriment to a team than Chiasson or Kassian. Neal will be lucky to beat 5 goals if he doesn't get McDavid time.

What exactly are you expecting Neal to bring to the Oilers? Sure, he might get 20 goals, but he's slow, he doesn't defend, he's heartless, he's gutless, and he whines. It's not a coincidence that every team he's played for has given up on him.

This might be the most clueless I've ever seen Oilers fans. At least Calgary knows Lucic doesn't bring anything except face punching. Neal has the worst contract in the NHL. Treliving should have lost his job over the Neal contract, but he someone miraculously got out of it and managed to save money. Even if Lucic is a healthy scratch for 74 games, it's better than having Neal.

It's not a win for the Oilers that they can pay him a bunch of money to go away. If they buy him out next year, they're paying Neal and Lucic for the next 3 years not to play for them and then Neal an addition 3 years at 2 million. Great move Holland!
- Hunkulese

Nice spinning going on with Flames fans. Yet to read one report (outside Calgary) that don't say Oilers won this trade. Treliving, thanks to convincing by Iginla doing his hometown a solid, just dropped the ball here. Sorry it hurts... but

Nice spinning going on with Flames fans. Yet to read one report (outside Calgary) that don't say Oilers won this trade. Treliving, thanks to convincing by Iginla doing his hometown a solid, just dropped the ball here. Sorry it hurts... but
- Elijah888

There have been zero reports saying the Oilers won the trade. There have been zero reports saying the Flames won the trade. It was a garbage for garbage trade, but the Flames saved a whole bunch of imaginary money and a little bit of fake money. They also got someone who will punch a goalie.

How does it hurt Flames fans in the slightest? There's no possible way that Lucic is more useless than Neal was last year. It's literally impossible and they save money.

The Oilers got someone they can pay for the next 7 years to play a single year for them. That's the only positive thing Oilers fans have been saying to try and spin this trade. Big win!

It's actually starting to become the thing I'm looking forward to most this season. How many weeks is it going to take before the Oilers fans realize who they traded for?

There have been zero reports saying the Oilers won the trade. There have been zero reports saying the Flames won the trade. It was a garbage for garbage trade, but the Flames saved a whole bunch of imaginary money and a little bit of fake money. They also got someone who will punch a goalie.

How does it hurt Flames fans in the slightest? There's no possible way that Lucic is more useless than Neal was last year. It's literally impossible and they save money.

The Oilers got someone they can pay for the next 7 years to play a single year for them. That's the only positive thing Oilers fans have been saying to try and spin this trade. Big win!

It's actually starting to become the thing I'm looking forward to most this season. How many weeks is it going to take before the Oilers fans realize who they traded for?
- Hunkulese

Good, so we'll both be equally disappointed by the player we're getting. Lucic is a special brand of awful. The difference is, we have a way to get out from our burden at a much cheaper cost (both asset-wise and cap-wise) than we would've been able to with Lucic.

Try all you like to sell it any other way, but that's what matters for us.

Neal sucks, Lucic sucks and they both will continue to suck. Just not as much.

Neal wont benefit from McDavid because its going to be the same issue as with Lucic. He wont be able to keep up. He will be moved down the lineup

Lucic is going to play on the 3rd line in Calgary.

Dont get why people are making such a fuss over what turd will stink less.

Neal sucks, Lucic sucks and they both will continue to suck. Just not as much.

Neal wont benefit from McDavid because its going to be the same issue as with Lucic. He wont be able to keep up. He will be moved down the lineup

Lucic is going to play on the 3rd line in Calgary.

Dont get why people are making such a fuss over what turd will stink less.
- xShoot4WarAmpsx

While the point of the post is fine, you fundamentally misunderstand the issue with Lucic if you think his failure was "because he couldn't keep up". The issue is he can't make or take a pass and on any given night will forget how to shoot. It doesn't take speed to keep up with McDavid; hell, it doesn't even take a sharp mind. What you need is a mindset that understands the where (to be), the how (to get there) and the what (to do once you're there) of attacking the slot and soft enough hands to finish a play once in a while.

While the point of the post is fine, you fundamentally misunderstand the issue with Lucic if you think his failure was "because he couldn't keep up". The issue is he can't make or take a pass and on any given night will forget how to shoot. It doesn't take speed to keep up with McDavid; hell, it doesn't even take a sharp mind. What you need is a mindset that understands the where (to be), the how (to get there) and the what (to do once you're there) of attacking the slot and soft enough hands to finish a play once in a while.
- MaximumBone

I agree, but I still don't think that Neal gets much time with McDavid, other than PP time. What we need is Neal to be semi-productive with RHN on the second line, he was to have more upside there than Lucic.

I still hate our blind homer "fans" on here though. If Neal puts up 25 goals this year they will never shut up. But if Neal being in the top 6 pushes Chaisson into the bottom 6, and Chaisson only puts up Lucic numbers (or god forbid Reider numbers), then we are really no further ahead and the extra costs absorbed taking Neal for Lucic become a big negative.

I can definitely see Flames fans side of the deal. Neal flat out sucked in their top 6, they had better options, and he is useless in any teams bottom 6. So, getting Lucic in the bottom 6 for them (also displacing Hathaway's salary in the truculence spot), at 750k savings, is a big win. The NMC is the only unknown in the deal for them, and who knows, maybe Lucic would be happy to leave Alberta for Seattle when the time comes.

Yes Lucic's contract was the worst in the NHL AT THE TIME, 3 years ago. Edmonton has already paid for the worst part of the contract, now it is merely bad but not the worst Neal's is by far the worst of what is remaining.

Lucic's Contract

Year Edmonton Calgary
1 8 000 000 0
2 8 000 000 0
3 7 000 000 0
4 3 750 000 2 250 000
5 750 000 3 250 000
6 750 000 4 250 000
7 750 000 3 250 000


Edmonton 3 years of Lucic $29 Million - Calgary 4 years $13 million


Neal's Contract

Year Edmonton Calgary
1 0 5 750 000
2 5 750 000 0
3 5 750 000 0
4 5 750 000 0
5 5 750 000 0

Edmonton 4 years of Neal $23 Million - Calgary 1 year at $5.75 million

So Edmonton when all is said and done Edmonton will have spent a combined total of $52 million and Calgary only $18.75 million on these players.

So if throwing good money after bad is a good thing then Kenny gets a gold star.

I agree, but I still don't think that Neal gets much time with McDavid, other than PP time. What we need is Neal to be semi-productive with RHN on the second line, he was to have more upside there than Lucic.

I still hate our blind homer "fans" on here though. If Neal puts up 25 goals this year they will never shut up. But if Neal being in the top 6 pushes Chaisson into the bottom 6, and Chaisson only puts up Lucic numbers (or god forbid Reider numbers), then we are really no further ahead and the extra costs absorbed taking Neal for Lucic become a big negative.

I can definitely see Flames fans side of the deal. Neal flat out sucked in their top 6, they had better options, and he is useless in any teams bottom 6. So, getting Lucic in the bottom 6 for them (also displacing Hathaway's salary in the truculence spot), at 750k savings, is a big win. The NMC is the only unknown in the deal for them, and who knows, maybe Lucic would be happy to leave Alberta for Seattle when the time comes.
- Beergu

I completely agree that Neal's main linemate should (and likely will) be Nuge.

Draisaitl- McDavid- Kassian
Benson- Nuge- Neal

The only situation where I can see this changing in is if a move is made to acquire a talented W (Ehlers, for example) to pair with Drai to make a 2nd outscoring line. In that case, Nuge would likely be traded, Drai would be bumped down and Neal would make the most sense as a replacement for Drai's shooting skills with McD.

Benson- McDavid- Neal
Ehlers- Draisaitl- Kassian

That's a pretty risky move, but one that would make some sense for both sides. The Jets get a quality 2C in his prime to play with their many remaining talented wingers while the Oilers get a younger, more dynamic winger that fits the mold of what an ideal partner for Drai needs to thrive (fast, adept shooter and playmaker, high pace). The cap exchange is even equal.

The Oilers get an extra 4 years at a cap friendly rate, but the Jets get the C they've needed for so long; tough to say which outweighs the other.