On the Edmonton Oilers and Milan Lucic …
Chris Nichols of FRS Hockey: Darren Dreger on TSN 1260 said that the remaining five years on Milan Lucic complicates any potential trade. There is some worry that he can’t bounce back after a bad season, but there is interest.
“The problem though is, to your point, what’s the construction of a trade and what has to go out with Milan Lucic just to bait a team to take on that contract. I still believe he’s got game. He’s 30 years old, but you’ve got to be certain of that as an interested general manager because there is a pile of money – and it’s not just about the cap space.
We know he’s a $6 million cap hit. We know that from a salary standpoint, Edmonton paid what – $8 million this past season, $7 million owing Lucic next year and then it drops to 6, then 4, then back up to 5, and then 4 in the final year of the deal – 2022-23.”
Dreger continues that there is more than one team that is interested in Lucic, but getting close to a potential trade isn’t easy.
David Staples of the Edmonton Journal: Through translation, La Presse writer Mathias Brunet on what the Oilers could do in order to move forward Milan Lucic to the Montreal Canadiens.
“(Montreal GM) Marc Bergevin would manage a masterstroke to convince Chiarelli to give up him his tenth choice overall in 2018, as well as Lucic, in return for choices in the second and third rounds, and maybe a prospect.”
Staples believes there is no chance that the Oilers would trade the No. 10 pick to move Lucic. They could consider a second-round pick, but not their first.
Brunet uses the comparables Bryan Bickell and Teuvo Teravainen for a second and third-round pick, and Dave Bolland and Lawson Crouse for a conditional second-round pick as well as a third. Staples uses the Dion Phaneuf to Ottawa comparable – Phaneuf, Matt Frattin, Casey Bailey, Ryan Rupert and Cody Donaghey for a second-round pick, Jared Cowan, Milan Michalek, Colin Greening and Tobias Lindberg.
Staples thinks the Oilers would have to take back a lesser, bad contact, but still acquire a draft pick or prospect. The Oilers might have to retain some salary.