Not to throw shade at Steven Stamkos and Kyle Okposo, but bad boy Milan Lucic is a pending unrestricted free agent and has become a red hot commodity inside the NHL.
To win in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, teams have to play heavy, nasty, fast hockey. Lucic is the perfect panacea for teams who have a wealth of skill but are devoid of back bone and intimidation.
Case in point: Los Angeles.
Last summer at this time, the Kings roster was high on skill, howevr, was short on snarl and toughness.
Enter Lucic who was traded to LA for goalie Martin Jones and a first round draft choice. Lucic stepped right in and provided the jam, snarl and skill that Kings GM Dean Lombardo felt his team was lacking. The Kings paid a fat price for Lucic, however, justified it by addressing their immediate need for physicality with the toughest customer in the NHL.
Lucic scored 20 goals, added 35 assists and 79 PIMs in LA last season.
Last week, Lucic informed the Kings that he would be throwing his bucket into the NHL UFA market on July 1 when he learned that the cap strapped Kings would not be able to meet his salary demands. Lucic earned $6 million in 2015-16. There's no way that the Kings would be able to sign him to a long term deal in the $7 million AAV neighborhood.
Looch is a man in high demand right now and he will be getting a fat contract from a team of his choosing.
The Vancouvrer native is on his summer of love tour.
The brawny winger visited with his hometown Vancouver Canucks on Monday. Today, Looch is visiting his old boss Peter Chiarelli and the Oilers. Lucic and Chiarelli drank champagne from the Stanley Cup in 2011.
The two men will likely be reunited in Edmonton in the very near future. Chiarelli wants Lucic and it appears that the feeling is mutual.
Like Dave Semenko and Marty McSorley did for Wayne Gretzky, Jarri Kurri, Mark Messier and Paul Coffey, Lucic would be the perfect protector for Connor McDavid, RNH, Jordan Eberle, Leon Draisaitl in Edmonton.
Lucic as big brother and junkyard dog is a perfect scenario. However, Chiarelli already has a log jam at left wing where Lucic plays.
Chiarelli has five LW who represent $15.85 million on the 2016-17 salary cap.
Taylor Hall is a $6M AAV for the next four seasons.
Benoit Pouliot is a $4M AAV for the next three seasons.
Lauri Korpikoski is a $2.5M AAV for this season.
Patrick Maroon is $1.5M AAV this season.
Matt Hendricks is $1.85M AAV this season.
When Chiarelli drafted Finn forward Jesse Puljujarvi fourth overall, it told me that Taylor Hall will be leaving Edmonton. The Lucic fascination further accentuates the Hall departure narrative.
If Chiarelli really wants to bag Lucic in unrestricted free agency, he's going to have to trade Taylor Hall and hisc $6 million salary.
There will be no shortage of suitors for Hall, including Buffalo, NY Islanders, Tampa, NY Rangers and Detroit.
At what price Taylor Hall?
Chiarelli is in desperate need of a right shot, top four D-man who can play 5v5 and special teams while gobbling 25 minutes TOI per night.
The Buffalo Sabres, should they lose the Steven Stamkos Soiree, would be wise to aggressively pursue Hall to ride shotgun for Jack Eichel and Samson Reinhart.
The Sabres have right D Zach Bogosian to use as a package of currency to pay for a Hall trade. Bogosian has a no move clause that he would have to waive to facilitate a trade to Edmonton. The Las Vegas expansion draft is a circumstance that Tim Murray should not be over looking. Bogosian's no move clause is a factor in his future in Buffalo.
The Red Wings are looking to add D, see Cam Fowler. They are in no position to trade a key blue liner to the Oilers in order to secure another skilled forward.
Sabres GM Tim Murray said Friday night that he inquired with Chiarelli about Edmonton's fourth overall pick at the NHL Draft. The price was far too high for Murray to jump from 8th to 4th pick, therefore, the conversation ended quickly.
Perhaps Murray and Chiarelli revisit their prior discussion to develop a Taylor Hall trade to the Sabres.
Should Edmonton win the Lucic Lottery and Buffalo lose the Stamkos Stampede, it makes perfect hockey sense for Taylor Hall to land in Buffalo.
Hall's $6M AAV is a helluva lot less than Stamkos' $12M AAV.
Tim Murray can take possession of Taylor Hall for fifty cents on the dollar as compared to Stamkos. Murray could then invest the savings of a Hall trade into RFA D Rasmus Ristolainen's new contract extension, and, left D QB Cam Fowler. Funny how all of a sudden Cam Fowler trade talk has died, eh? That just means that Bob Murray's ask of the 2016 first rounder of Buffalo (8) and Montreal (9) was an unrealistic expectation for the elite level puck mover. I'm told Buffalo are still very much interested in Fowler and may well trade Zemgus Girgensons, a forward prospect and a 2016 conditional second rounder to Anaheim for Fowler.
Food for thought.
Chiarelli once traded Tyler Seguin, the second overall pick in the 2010 NHL Draft. Taylor Hall was the first overall pick in that very same draft.
Chiarelli always gets his man.
Lucic is in his cross hairs and likely will not be leaving Edmonton now that his skates are already planted on Alberta oil nourished soil.
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