THE GREAT SECOND HALF ACQUISITION

7 years ago

As a Bruins fan, I saw the play many, many times. Boston player shoots the puck into the offensive zone, Milan Lucic is on the defender seconds after contact is made with the puck. Separation, and in many cases, Lucic gaining possession and then passing the puck to an appropriate open man. Oilers fans haven’t seen this player yet, and that may be a key element to the second half of the season.

MILAN LUCIC 2015-16

5×5 points per 60: 2.04
5×4 points per 60: 2.83
Corsi For 5×5 %: 59.3 (No. 2 among regular forwards)
Corsi Rel: 11.4 (No. 2 among regular forwards)
Shots on goal/percentage: 124/16.1
Boxcars: 81gp, 20-35-55

(All numbers via Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com)

MILAN LUCIC 2016-17

5×5 points per 60: 1.09 (down by more than 1.00 season over season)
5×4 points per 60: 6.19 (up substantially, he is 5-9-14 on PP)
Corsi For 5×5 %: 51.9 (No. 4 among forwards)
Corsi Rel: 1.7 (No. 4 among forwards)
Shots on goal/percentage: 108/10.2
Boxcars: 51gp, 11-18-29

(All numbers via Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com)

Year over year, Lucic has taken a deep dive 5×5, but the power-play points have spiked incredibly. ML has good possession numbers (as usual) and he is shooting far more this season than one year ago. The concern is the 5×5 number, which also offers the Oilers an opportunity in the second half. Lucic has the ability, what can Edmonton do to get more from the big man?

LUCIC WITH EDMONTON’S CENTERS

Lucic with McDavid: 414:18 and 4-5-9 (1.30 5×5 per 60)
Lucic with Draisaitl: 152:28 and 2-2-4 (1.57 5×5 per 60)
Lucic with Caggiula: 133:11 and 1-1-2 (0.90 5×5 per 60)
Lucic with RNH: 117:09 and 0-1-1 (0.51 5×5 per 60)
Lucic with Letestu: 38:30 and 0-0-0

The best center for Lucic this season is Leon Draisaitl, and I think visually we would agree the numbers. If we use Leon as a template (bigger center, excellent passer, who can also put the puck in the net), we are probably on the right track.

LUCIC IN BOSTON AND LOS ANGELES

Lucic with David Krejci: 4,273:53 and 62-93-155 (2.18 5×5 per 60)
Lucic with Marc Savard: 931:44 and 12-18-30 (1.93 5×5 per 60)
Lucic with Anze Kopitar: 621:58 and 8-15-23 (2.22 5×5 per 60)

Veterans. Skilled. I think the Oilers probably need to match Lucic with a veteran skill center, and if that player is a bigger man that is probably an advantage as well. Leon is the best internal option based on the numbers above and MLs own past success.

WHAT WOULD THAT LOOK LIKE?

I think Lucic will eventually have success with any and all of McDavid, Leon and Nuge. That said, he is currently playing with Drake Caggiula and that is less than ideal. It is important for Edmonton to get better return on their investment.

David Krejci is a skill center, who can win faceoffs and play a strong two-way game. He is not a big body, but the Bruins made it work (most successfully with Nathan Horton on RW). The ideal external option for Peter Chiarelli may be Martin Hanzal, and I remain convinced the Nuge is a really close comp for Krecji (faceoffs aside).

Chemistry. It’s a thing. Milan Lucic needs to find some, and Peter Chiarelli may have to find him a more veteran option in order to unlock that 5×5 offense.