Just a few days after saying a rumored deal between Milan Lucic and the Edmonton Oilers was “bullsh**“, the 28-year-old forward has signed a seven-year, $42 million deal with the Oilers. The deal will carry an average cap hit of $7 million per season and give the Oilers a gritty forward who can chip in offensively.
The Oilers may have not been the original favorite to land Lucic, but the trade which sent Taylor Hall to New Jersey opened up a spot at forward and gave the Oilers some flexibility to add a bit of muscle up front. As soon as that deal was completed, the writing was on the wall that the Oilers could make an offer Lucic couldn’t refuse. That offer apparently clocks in with a cap hit of $7 million per year
Though numerous teams were interested in Lucic, it sounds like the bidding war came down to the Oilers and the Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks ended up shifting their focus to Loui Eriksson after missing out on Lucic. The Montreal Canadiens were also reportedly interested, but they turned their attention to Alexander Radulov.
