The Blues have signed left winger Milan Lucic to a professional tryout, the team announced.
Lucic, 37, last played in the NHL with the Bruins in October 2023. While on injured reserve for an ankle injury, he was arrested in November and charged with assault and battery for a domestic incident. Those charges were later dropped in February 2024, but he remained in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program throughout the season and did not return to Boston for the balance of the season and became an unrestricted free agent.
Late last offseason, Lucic expressed interest in making an NHL return but said he was still in the assistance program, making him ineligible to play until he was cleared by league medical staff. He was never suspended or disciplined by the league as a direct result of his charges. The Blues confirmed in their press release today that he has been cleared from the program and thus reinstated by the league.
While once one of the league’s top power forwards in his early days with Boston, Lucic took on bottom-six journeyman status as soon as he entered his 30s. The 6’3″, 240-lb lefty hasn’t had 30 points in a season since the 2017-18 campaign. In his last three seasons plus his four-game stint with the Bruins in 2023, he averaged 10 goals, 24 points, a -12 rating, and 198 hits per 82 games while averaging 12:16 of ice time per night. For his career, he’s got a 233-353–586 scoring line in 1,177 games.
The Blues haven’t had any major roster turnover at forward this offseason, and with Lucic not playing in nearly two years, he’s at best battling for a press-box role or a two-way deal out of the gate in camp. It’s unclear if he’d be willing to accept an AHL assignment if it helped facilitate an NHL return. The Vancouver native has never played in the minors – he jumped straight from juniors to Boston when he began his NHL career back in 2007.
Even then, it’s hard to see where he fits in if not in a minor-league role. St. Louis already has its bottom-six forward group filled out, plus two extras with Nick Bjugstad, Mathieu Joseph, Jake Neighbours, Oskar Sundqvist, Pius Suter, Alexandre Texier, Alexey Toropchenko, and Nathan Walker all relatively safe locks for spots. That doesn’t include much room for top prospect Dalibor Dvorsky to land a job, let alone a veteran reclamation project like Lucic.
Intresting move Army. He could be a decent depth piece under Monty.
It seems so long as he’s not in Boston, maybe he can stay out of trouble?
LOL!!!!!!!
Mark November 24th on your calendar for when the Blues play the Rangers in MSG, classic heavyweight tilt between Milan Lucic and Matt Rempe. Thing is two years out of professional hockey at age 37 and your body conditioning for a full season starts to go in reverse–unless your last name is Jagr. Wish Lucic the best for a comeback but the odds are against him.
Presuming that Rempe’s not holding down a fourth-line job in Hartford.
He’s as well done as a Burger on a grill.
Lucic was looking old and out of place before all this. I always liked him as a player but I doubt he’s able to keep pace anymore.
They might as well give Biz Nasty another PTO too.
Is the bar low enough now to sign Carter Hart?
Didn’t know the bar was low to sign an acquitted player?
Joseph and texier could never get in a groove. Would like 2 see either or both moved. Wouldn’t bring anything back but as if now they look like either healthy scratches or taking time away from dvorsky
I could keep up with him. He’s done.
This move makes me think that the Blues are not sure about some of the bottom 6 wingers being ready or good enough to make the team out of camp. Otherwise, why do this?