Not Mad. Just Disappointed and Furious

I’m furious at Milan Lucic. I think I speak for a lot of Bruins nation when I say this, too.

I look at the Bruins Trade Deadline acquisition of Pat Maroon, and I like it overall. I mean, it doesn’t help now, really. Maroon is sidelined after back surgery. He has no timetable for return. He told reporters in his media scrum the other day he’s “meeting with the medical staff, and I’m skating a little bit.” That’s not, um, encouraging.

This could have been avoided if Lucic could handle his liquor and keep his hands to himself. Allegedly.

A Sort of Homecoming

In July, we reported Milan Lucic was coming home. I for one was excited, and hoped the fans in Boston would have (at least) tempered expectations for the former prodigal son. As it turned out, people around town were buzzing. Fucking psyched. Firefighters in town were greeting Lucic like the mayor. Collectively, we were pumped!

Things started off OK for Lucic. He played in a preseason game, with the Bruins at home. When he hit the ice, or touched the puck, the familiar LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCH could be heard from the Garden faithful. We were loving it, eh?

The season started on October 11^th with a bang. So impressed was I with the play of the new look 4^th line of Johnny Beecher, Jakub Lauko, and Lucic, I went so far as to say they could be the best 4^th since the Merlot line. I may have jumped the gun a bit there.

Hindsight Being 20/20 (Beers)

Months later, same season, Lucic is in the NHLPA Player Assistance Program after breaking his foot in October. And drinking too much. And not being able to keep his hands to himself. And Johnny Beecher is plying his trade in Providence. And Lauko has been fairly solid after getting kicked in the face in October.

What a fucking waste.

I was already bummed out Lucic was obvi going to be out long term. We had recently learned he would not be available for an Era’s Night Game November 18^th against the Canadiens at home on a Saturday night that I was attending. On the morning of the 18^th, I got a text of a mugshot of Milan Lucic with a caption reporting he had been arrested the previous evening for domestic abuse. Well, shit. If that isn’t a kick in the groin, I’m not sure what is. Except for maybe a kick in the groin.

I was hoping it wasn’t true, but as the day progressed, various news outlets were reporting it as true. Allegedly, Milan Lucic had been out drinking on November 17^th. He came home and accused his wife of hiding his cell phone. She told him she didn’t, and Lucic wasn’t buying it. He broke some stuff and put his hands on her. Oh, and there was a kids’ sleepover going on. Not good.

Handsy / Boozy Fallout

At the game on the 18th, the Pro Shop was completely cleared of any and all Lucic gear. A few people wore their Milan jerseys to the game, but for the most part he was erased from our collective minds like the flashy pen thing in a Men in Black movie. Poof. It was swap gas we saw. Not Milan Lucic.

Then, on February 16^th, the charges against Milan Lucic were dropped. His wife refused to testify, and the 911 call was deemed inadmissible in court because Mrs. Lucic didn’t identify herself or Milan as the assailant. The State, realizing their case just blew up, dropped it, and Lucic was free to go.

Wait For It…

…but the damage was done.

Milan Lucic wants to meet with the commissioner to talk about playing hockey again. It’s not going to happen this year, as the Bruins organization has shut a return down. It all leads to a couple of questions, and reminds me how fucking furious I am at Milan Lucic.

The first question is, will he ever play again? There is recent precedent. In 2018, while with the Nashville Predators, Austin Watson was arrested for Domestic Abuse. Watson admitted to his transgression and was suspended 27 games by the league. He made his return to the NHL after a stint in rehab.

While the outcome is different- in so much as Watson copped to it and went to rehab – Lucic had his charges dropped entirely and is already participating in the NHL Players Assistance Program. After successful completion of the program, will he ever play in the NHL again… and has any lesson been learned?

Milan Lucic Back in Boston?

The second question is, will he ever play in Boston again? I don’t really know. He’s on a one-year deal in Boston. After the Bruins went and got Patrick Maroon, I seriously doubt they intend to bring Lucic back. Strategically, that was probably the whole point. I’m guessing Lucic may not be done in the NHL, but I am willing to bet he’s done in Boston. 

And that’s a goddamn shame.

I am so mad at Lucic right now. What could have been an amazing homecoming, full of LOOOOOOOOCH cheers, big hits, and brutal, career swansong fights, will never materialize.

I don’t condone violence of a domestic nature. I don’t know what happened on the night of November 17^th, and to the letter of the law, Lucic has been cleared of any wrongdoing. Optics aside, he’s doing what he is supposed to do in the program, and if he is reinstated, he may get a job in the NHL. But not in my patch. And I am so furious at him.

The Ghost of Milan Lucic

There have been so many times this season where the Bruins could have really used his presence on the bench. No more so than Thursday March 7^th against the Maple Leafs. The Leafs, having been man handled by the struggling Bruins 4-1 earlier in the week, were looking to at least be a physical presence as they came into Boston 3 days later.

The Leafs were physical, to be sure. Brad Marchand got high sticked in the face, and there were a couple of fights. Parker Wotherspoon of the Bruins was embarrassed by former Bruin, Tyler Bertuzzi, in as one sided fight as there can be. We watched and longed.

He got demolished. Not only should Wotherspoon not being fighting, but if Lucic were around, he could have given the kid some pointers on how to defend himself. Lucic was brought in to mentor these kids, and that’s part of the gig. Teaching callups how to fight. Or at least defend themselves more wicked better.

I was watching this 4-1 game play out thinking to myself – it would have never happened if Milan Lucic were dressed. Once it got physical, he and Ryan Reaves would have taken it to center ice and settled the thing.

Like it or not, girls, frontier justice still exists in the NHL. Both those guys, having been doling it out for years, would have been happy to dispense it.

It’s really not a huge surprise the Bruins brought Patrick Maroon in at the deadline. They must know more than they’re letting on to acquire a guy that isn’t even playing right now, with 17 games left in the season. Like, maybe, Lucic is out for all times.

I don’t know how much of a deterrent Maroon will be moving forward from the press box. He does have a ton of playoff experience, having won three Cups with St. Louis and Tampa, respectively, and maybe they have started talking about a role next year.

I like the move overall, but I am still fuckin’ furious at Milan Lucic. He was the prodigal son, returning to his original citadel, and now his legacy is tarnished because he can’t hold his liquor or keep his hands to himself. Allegedly. 

Oh well, there’s always work at the post office, the Amazon warehouse, or as a boudoir photographer wherever he ends up in Canada.