1: Lucic and Neal are both the same age, so that doesn’t make a difference.
2: Neal had one bad year, Lucic has had two straight bad years.
3: Neal’s deal is 5.5 a year, and Lucic is 6 a year. With the oilers taking 750k a year the flames cap hit is 5.25 and Edmonton’s is 6.25. Both have the same amount of years left (4).
4: Calgary could not find a fit with Neal on any line. They want to use Lucic as an enforcer on the Monahan- Gaudreau line. So may be a good fit.
5: Neal will play on the second line, may be a good fit for him. It remains to be seen on both ends.
6: we need to resign Tkachuk, getting rid of Neal’s contract was great, taking on Lucic’s was not. So sixes either way.
Overall I was not happy with it, as it’s a gamble with a lot of cap space filled up. But it may end up helping get some toughness on that top line. They were pretty weak in the playoffs this year.