Late last night Sportsnet released the latest 31 Thoughts pod and they had quite a bit of Oilers talk. More than normal and so in the next two posts I will be transcribing some of that material for you.
Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman on Milan Lucic
To preface this transcription, the hosts of the 31 Thoughts podcast were talking about players who “chase the hit” like Tom Wilson and Nikita Zadorov and how Friedman thought that there might be a return to this kind of player in the future (something I agree with). Marek thought no because nobody is building that kind of player right now. They’re all in Connor McDavid mode and concentrating on skill and skating at the moment but Friedman’s reply to that was that there’ll be a parent that looks at Tom Wilson or a coach that looks at him and says, “I can build that. I can do that.”
My feeling is that yes, there’ll be a return to the power forward because there’s this hard on for the skilled little guy right now but the new power forwards will be more Tom Wilson (sans the questionable hits and suspensions) and less Milan Lucic. Meaning he’ll have the skating and the skills to go along with his physicality. Think Quinton Byfield, a 2020 eligible player who is 6’4″ 214lbs (at 16 years old!) and is getting comparisons to one of the greatest skilled power forwards in the history of the NHL, Eric Lindros.
On to the transcription!
Marek: For every Tom Wilson where you say, “Hey, we need to go find a guy like this!”, the other side of the coin there is Milan Lucic, who Oilers fans are pulling their hair out over with that contract and that lack of production.
Friedman: Lucic is older than both those guys (Wilson/Zadorov).
Marek: Is the Lesson there that when you play that style of game your career is limited and when it ends it ends quickly, abruptly, and you better not get caught~ When the music stops on these guys there’d better be a chair for you to sit in?
Friedman: I think that’s fair that maybe this is one of those things where you gotta get that guy when he’s younger as opposed to when he’s older. And don’t forget what a force he was when they won the Cup.
Marek: Absolutely. No one’s denying that. The way he played with the Boston Bruins, he was a tornado in a trailer park.
Friedman: Maybe that’s the secret Jeff. If you’re going to get a guy like that you gotta get him before he’s 27.
Marek: Sure. Makes sense to me if you’re going to have that style of player. I’ve always felt this way about the previous generation about fighters that change teams. It’s really tough when you leave a market where your calling card is physicality because if you stay in that market, in a lot of ways, you can surf on the reputation. You can do that for a while but when someone who plays a physical type of game, specifically someone who’s known for fighting goes to a different market, it’s a different market and they want to see you do it all over again. You haven’t established that reputation in that market for that team yet. That’s why it’s tough when older tougher players move teams.
Like, Milan Lucic could’ve stayed in Boston if they would’ve let him and just surfed on the rep and here’s the big tough guy and skate around the ice and everyone goes home happy. You’re not going to do that in Los Angeles, they wanna see it. You’re not gonna do that in Edmonton, they wanna see it. And when you get older I can only imagine how tough it is to rev that engine up again every single night. Like you’re 22 again.
Now, I’m a glass half full kinda guy and I’m not sold on the idea that Milan Lucic is done. Yeah, he’s having a tough go at the moment but really, how bad is it when he’s been on the 3rd line for a solid portion of the season to date and removed from the 1st unit PP (both moves I support by the way) yet he still has more points than James Neal, Max Pacioretty. He’s also only a point away from Anze Kopitar, two points away from Jaden Schwartz, three points away from Nik Ehlers, and a mere four points away from Brayden Schenn.
I don’t subscribe to the idea of combining seasons to make your point either. This season is brand new, no sense in using last year’s stats to pad your argument for this season. If you watch him, there’s no doubt that he’s got the fire back in his belly. He’s skating well, he’s hitting often and hard. He’s winning battles in the corners and along the boards. He’s completing more passes more often.
He’s really back to playing like the Lucic we all know and love but the puck isn’t going in for him. It happens. Let’s see what the result is when he plays some significant time with a skilled top-2 center and see if his game drops off or if he causes his linemates a drop off in production.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!
