Crazy trade in the works to send Lucic back to LA?!

This would get people talking in Edmonton… WOW!

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 5 years ago
Crazy trade in the works to send Lucic back to LA?!
Zuma Press

When Peter Chiarelli was fired as general manager of the Edmonton Oilers back in January, fans were quick to remind the team of all the bad moves and trades he made during his tenure. One of them was of course the lucrative contract he offered to veteran forward Milan Lucic, who hasn’t produced quite nearly enough for the amount of money he gets. 

After scoring 23 goals in the first season of a seven-year, $42 million deal, Lucic has now posted just five goals and 18 points in 74 games this year. There have been talks of trades and contract buyouts, however, since Lucic denied wanting out of Edmonton, things have been quieter. 

It’s also because the fact remains: which team would want to take on Lucic’s big contract for very little offense? 

Well, it seems like one crazy trade could take place this summer, according to Mark Spector of Sportsnet. He believes one desperate team could reach out to another to make it happen. 

Spector starts things off by wondering if the Los Angeles Kings will manage to move aging forward Ilya Kovalchuk, who has an annual average value of $6.25 million for two more seasons. While it may be hard to move him this summer, Spector wonders if the Oilers could jump on this opportunity. 

“Would they take Milan Lucic and a defensive prospect like Ethan Bear for Kovalchuk from Edmonton?” he asks. 

The challenge remains that Kovalchuk only has two years left on his deal, while the Kings would have to commit four for Lucic. While the Kings might be interested in their former player, they know they need to get younger and faster and Lucic certainly isn’t the right solution for these needs. 

On top of that, Kovalchuk has a full no-movement clause and is believed to want to stick in LA. He probably wouldn’t choose Edmonton as his top destination… 

Will this crazy trade happen? It seems like there are a lot of obstacles in the way, however, what could the Oilers do to get rid of Lucic’s contract? 

Source: Sportsnet