For the last few seasons, the Boston Bruins have had at the very least a solid goaltender (or two in last season’s case), at least two or three solid goal scorers, and a plethora of good defensemen.
One thing that they have missed on a consistent basis, is physicality. Sure, they have had Nick Foligno on their roster acting as their physical presence on the ice, but last year he was placed on long-term injured reserve, right when they needed him the most towards the end of the regular season.
However, now with the addition of Milan Lucic, the ways of the Big, Bad, Bruins are slowly returning.
It will be hard to replicate what Boston had when it had Lucic, Shawn Thornton, Brad Marchand, and Zdeno Chara all on the same team, but with Lucic returning, don’t be surprised if we see more hits like this one.
Lucic is excited to be back in Boston where he began his career back in 2006. So much so, that, according to a report from NHL.com’s Amalie Benjamin, he came to an agreement in theory with Bruins general manager to return to Boston just one minute into free agency.
Lucic will bring a physical presence back to the Bruins lineup that (in accordance with who is still around) relied heavily on Brandon Carlo, Derek Forbort, Trent Frederic, and David Pastrnak to dole out the big hits to the other side, all of whom combined for 430 hits alone, according to statmuse.com.
After Pastrnak had a record-setting season on the goal-scoring side of things, watch for Lucic to lighten Pastrnak’s load physically in an effort to let Pastrnak do what he does best: score goals.
Something Lucic also brings to the table is a player who is not afraid to stick up for his teammates, even if it means a fight. While they did have a few players like that in previous years, there was no one as consistent on the Bruins, as Lucic was (despite not playing for them) who has dropped the mitts a total of 88 times in his storied 16-year career.
The ways of the Big, Bad, Bruins have been gone for a few years, but with the return of Lucic, the return of at least some of that mentality is back.