Quoting: LobbysOilers
shaw is an average third line player at his best, and at his worst lucic mid tier 2nd line player. i disagree with players who are cheaper being more valuable because there is only so much ice time to replace the money and production. lucic isnt a bad hockey player, his contract is just 1M too much for 3Years too long
if Lucic continues to struggle, he'll play himself right out of the NHL. It's all about speed and mobility these days, and he just doesn't have it. in EDM, Lucic is decent 2nd liner because he has guys like Drai or RNH feeding him open nets, and let's not kid ourselves, Lucic has played many games on the 1st line and PP with McJesus , which should account for some of his points he has this year. In MTL he would not have such a luxury. again I think MTL should give a shot in acquiring Lucic, because even with his lack of speed, I think Claude Julien has the best chance at fitting Lucic's style into his system. but Shaw has more versatility, sure at the end of the day you'd want him on a 3rd line, but he can literally slot anywhere in the lineup from 1st to 4th line at
any position, which is an extremely desired trait. It's not for nothing many teams were reported interested in traded for Shaw at the deadline. even though he was not a rental.
and as you say, Lucic's contract is 3 years too long, and those 3 years remove basically all value from anything he can potentially add to a team. Especially when his contract is basically buyout proof with all his signing bonuses.