Milan Lucic remains on the trade block and fans have stopped holding their breath waiting for a deal to take place.
However, it seems like the Edmonton Oilers have had more than one occasion to ship the veteran forward elsewhere. According to Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic, several teams looked into acquiring the left winger despite his bloated contract and declining production. The insider points out that Lucic is only owed $16 million in actual salary of the remaining $24 million against the salary cap.
As for general manager Ken Holland, it appears that he does not find any of these inquiries interesting and has told The Athletic he will keep looking around the league to see if a deal can be made, but is aware Lucic could be in an Oilers uniform for 2019-20.
“I’m sort of looking that Lucic is going to be part of our team,” he said.
“We’ve gotta find a way to get Milan back playing the way he was when he first got to Edmonton,” he said. “If we get to September and he’s on the roster, we’ve gotta get some hockey out of him. He’s gotta be a part of the solution if he’s here.”
While Nugent-Bowman does not reveal what the interested parties offered in return for Lucic, some fans will wonder why Holland refused to pull the trigger…
One thing we have learned in the league is to trust Holland who has built championship teams in the past. Let’s hope he can manage to do the same in Edmonton - whether Lucic is on the roster or not.
