Boston Bruins: Milan Lucic Anxious To Play Against Bruins
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
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The Boston Bruins organization and fans alike aren’t going to be alone entering this season feeling bizarre about Milan Lucic playing in a different uniform. The new-Los Angeles Kings forward was traded out west in exchange for goaltender Martin Jones, Colin Miller, and a first round draft pick during the offseason, and he seems to feel the same way. In a recent phone interview, Lucic was asked about when he would be playing against the Buins in the 2015-16 season, and he said without hesitation “February.” he continued to say, “We don’t play (the Bruins) till February. We’re in Boston Feb. 9, and then Boston is here March 19. It’s not till way late.” The former fan-favourite wasted no time in verifying the dates, saying that, “Those were the ones that I looked at right away, to be honest, when they came out.”
Milan Lucic was drafted by the Bruins in 2006 and was a force every since. His best season came during the 2010-2011 season, the year the Bruins won the cup, when Lucic posted 30 goals and 32 assists for 62 points in 79 games. He followed up that impressive season with 26 goals and 35 assists for 61 points the following year. Lucic is on the final year of his contract and that is a fact that will also be on his mind throughout the season. “Another thing that I have to learn how to deal with, too, is that little bit of uncertainty,” he went on to say, “I’ve always known that, ‘Hey, okay, I’m going to be here (in Boston) and the contract is there,’ so none of that was ever in the back of your mind, right? So I guess there is a little bit of uncertainty there, as well.”
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Despite the uncertainty on the back of his mind, Lucic seems ready to start the season and contribute for his new club. “Usually when a team has success, individuals have success, so I’m just trying to come here and help the team win hockey games, and usually when you do that eveyrthing else takes care of itself. In a perfect world, I’d love to stay out here.” The vast majority of Bruins fans will remember Lucic fondly for his years of service in Boston, and he truly deserves every bit of respect he’s earned from the Bruins faithful.
The Bruins signed Matt Beleskey in hopes of replicating Lucic’s production as a power-forward on the top-line alongside David Krejci. The line of Beleskey, Krejci, and Pastrnak has played well so far in practice and the preseason, and will look to translate that into regular season success. With the regular season quickly approaching, Lucic will have to learn to play without the Bruins, and the Bruins will have to learn how to play without Lucic. The learning curve shouldn’t be too steep, but it will certainly be weird to see #17 skating in black and silver instead of black and gold.
Follow Brandon Share-Cohen on Twitter @BShareCohen to discuss all things Bruins and sports