Folks, do you like grit? According to reporting by Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos and Eric Francis, the Calgary Flames like grit enough that they’re willing to trade with the Edmonton Oilers. Reportedly, the Flames are in the midst of acquiring Milan Lucic in exchange for James Neal.
Milan Lucic days as a @EdmontonOilers are over. With Lucic waving his no move clause it opens up the trade to @NHLFlames. At this point sounding like a 1 for 1 trade for James Neal. @NHL
— Nick Kypreos (@RealKyper) July 19, 2019
Reportedly, a conditional pick and salary retention are expected to be part of the deal when finalized:
Just following up on @GenePrincipe and @RealKyper — only Lucic/Neal involved with EDM retaining some money and including a conditional draft pick.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 19, 2019
Neal, 31, has four years remaining on a contract that pays him $5.75 million per season. He had a disappointing season in 2018-19 after being signed by the Flames as a free agent coming off two consecutive trips to the Stanley Cup Final. He has no clauses on his deal that prevent him from being moved.
Lucic, 31, has four years remaining on a contract that pays him $6 million per season. He’s had two disappointing seasons since being signed by the Oilers as a free agent – his first season saw him score 23 goals and be generally pretty good. He has a no-move clause on his deal, but reportedly has shown a willingness to waive for the right situation.
Re: Lucic NMC: My understanding is if Lucic waived only for the purpose of a trade (and there's no negotiated addendum to his contract), he would still need to be protected for Seattle expansion draft. #Flames
— Ryan Pike (@RyanNPike) July 19, 2019
We’ll have more on this story as it develops. This would be just the third trade ever made between the Flames and Oilers.
