Lucic excited about return to Boston

When Milan Lucic was drafted by the  Boston Bruins in the second round of the 2006 NHL Draft, very few people expected him to ever have a big impact on the team. At the time, the Bruins were heavily stacked with young forwards and it looked like Lucic would need to play minor league hockey before getting his chance at the highest level of hockey.

After returning to junior hockey for one more season, Lucic surprised everyone by making the roster as a 19 year old in 2007. After making the team, he quickly became a fan favorite with his goal scoring and fighting abilities. He won the Seventh Player Award at the end of his rookie season and helped the Bruins win the Stanley Cup Championship in his home city of Vancouver in 2011.

The Bruins unfortunately needed to make some difficult financial decisions after Lucic’s eighth season with the Bruins. As a result, he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings during the 2015 NHL draft. He played for the Kings for one season then, before going on to play for the Edmonton Oilers for three seasons and the Calgary Flames for four seasons.

While Lucic has enjoyed playing close to his native British Columbia for the last seven seasons, he has spoken publicly about his desire to play in Boston again, a place he “considers to be home”. Lucic has said that he wants his three children to see him in a Bruins uniform. His oldest daughter was just two years old back in 2015 and his other two children were not alive yet when the Bruins traded him eight years ago.

While Lucic had to take a pay cut to return to where his NHL career started, he is looking forward to a new opportunity in a familiar city.

The 17-year veteran will be a leader for the team both on and off the ice. He will be reunited with Brad Marchand, with whom he won the Stanley Cup with and David Pastrnak, who was just a rookie when he left Boston in 2015. He also has the chance to win his second Stanley Cup with the Bruins and to retire with the team that drafted him.

With Patrice Bergeron recently announcing his retirement, and David Krecji likely retiring, Lucic will certainly be relied on to contribute in all situations on the ice and be a leader in the locker room. The Bruins only have two players left from the last time he played in Boston and he has more NHL experience than any other player on the roster.