Milan Lucic got in the way of the Edmonton Oilers signing Jason Demers.
Milan Lucic got in the way of the Edmonton Oilers signing Jason Demers.
EDMONTON -- Milan Lucic's arrival with the Edmonton Oilers was heralded across Alberta.
While his tenure didn't last the full length of his contract, he gave the team an incredible winning presence - even if his production was starting to fall. Many praised Peter Chiarelli at the time for bringing in the rugged forward.
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At what cost?
A story came out today that paints a fuller picture of what exactly happened during that time. Specifically regarding a defenseman who was rumored to be of interest to the Oilers.
On the Oilersnation Everyday Podcast retired defender Jason Demers recounts the dinner that changed his fortunes. He started off by clearing up his intentions during free agency back in the summer of 2016, "I really wanted to sign with Edmonton."
"It was the only team I visited, it was the only team I called."
This dinner was at Daryl Katz's house - with Chiarelli, Lucic, Demers, Demers father, and Katz all present.
He then talks about how the rest of the dinner panned out, "I'm looking across the table and Lucic keeps getting up and leaving the table and coming back. Chiarelli is getting up and leaving the table and they (Lucic and Chiarelli) are talking in the corner."
"I could hear Lucic at the table going 'the number just keeps going up and up and up'. I think it was after the third of fourth course that the money was at five or six million."
Demers could see the writing on the wall at that point and said to his father, "doesn't looks like we're going to Edmonton."
Things got awkward from there on out. Demers explains how the attitude towards them changed and how the night ended, "it went from them courting me...it went from talking to me and Luc [Lucic] to like we weren't even there in the house."
"Chiarelli drove us back to the hotel," Chiarelli drove them back to the hotel and then gave the equivalent of a shoulder shrug and a "sorry" and they were on their way.
Ultimately he would end up with the Oilers six years later - but he was nowhere near the same level of play as he was back then.
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