Maroon or Lucic?
By baggedmilk
6 years agoI got a clip from yesterday’s Oilers Now emailed to me this morning (thanks, Mark!) and I thought they were having a conversation worth talking about. Would the Oilers be better off with Maroon or Lucic?
Bob Stauffer brought up the point that the Oilers could be in a tough spot when it comes to picking who they want as their top line left wingers. Do they go with Lucic, who is already signed to a big contract with term, or do they go with Pat Maroon that needs a new deal this summer.
“I don’t know if you can have both Maroon and Lucic as your top two left wings. And I think we all know Lucic is going to be here.”
Is that a nice way of saying that Lucic’s contract is untradeable? Maybe? Probably? Does this imply that Pat Maroon won’t be re-signed? Anyway… Moving on.
“I know Maroon is a very popular player. I would be concerned about a long term contract on Maroon just based on his history as a player.”
Bob brings up a fair point here. Aside from his time as an Oiler, Pat Maroon has never really been considered a goal scorer. The Big Rig has put up some solid numbers in spurts but he’s never had the same, consistent production base as Lucic. The difference, of course, is that Maroon is outperforming Lucic right now and doing it at a much cheaper rate. Will that always be the case? is there even an option here?
“Frankly to this date in their careers, Lucic has been a far more consistent player than Maroon, though it must be stated Maroon has been a better fit with McDavid so far.”
The interesting point is that Bob is right on both counts in this last quote and it’s going to be a gamble for the Oilers to pick one route over the other. Are the Oilers better off sticking with the proven producer (albeit at a likely higher cap hit), or should they try to do what it takes (read: get fleeced on a trade) to move Milan and give Pat Maroon a contract that sees him riding shotgun with Connor McDavid? Is Maroon simply a byproduct of MacDavid, or is he driving play on his own?
THE BIG MEN AS OILERS
Milan Lucic
Regular Season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
2016-17 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 82 | 23 | 27 | 50 | 50 | -3 | 13 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 20 |
2017-18 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 14 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 14 | -1 | |||||
NHL Totals | 743 | 184 | 270 | 454 | 915 | 114 | 28 | 42 | 70 | 179 |
Pat Maroon
Regular Season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
2015-16 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 16 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 34 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — |
2016-17 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 81 | 27 | 15 | 42 | 95 | 13 | 13 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 28 |
2017-18 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 14 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 2 | |||||
NHL Totals | 315 | 65 | 80 | 145 | 388 | 42 | 12 | 14 | 26 | 72 |
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