He believes Lucic will be worth every cent of the $12.25 million the Bruins committed to him on Tuesday for three more seasons.
“I think a lot of teams would love to have that type of player and you don’t see that type of player on every team,” Julien pointed out. “If you start looking around the league and how many players [like] that are playing on the top line, having that type of makeup, physical, toughness and some skill involved as well, he’s … a rare type of player.
“That’s why people keep comparing him to Cam Neely,” Julien continued, “because Cam had that same element of toughness, but he was a guy who could score 50 goals and do a little bit of everything. I think that’s what we got here in Milan. He’s a guy that can still produce but also give you that type of respect on your top line that other teams aren’t going to take advantage of.”
Lucic increased his goal total by eight last season when he lit the lamp 17 times and the Bruins are confident that his production will continue to increase. What has also improved in such a short time has been Lucic’s understanding of when to use his physicality and when to pick his spots with fights. Neely had that same quality and according to Julien, Lucic is proving to have it as well.
“Those kinds of things come with experience and you learn as you move on here,” Julien suggested. “The first year he was really determined to build his reputation and become more known around the league so he probably [turned to his physical play] more often.
“A guy can’t play his role — and what I mean by that is a guy playing on the first line with his minutes — and [be as physical as he was] his first year. You have to find a balance between the two. You never want him to lose that element of toughness because that’s what made him the player he is, but at the same time you never want him going overboard and spending too much time in the penalty box because he’s also a very valuable player on the ice.”
Julien alluded to one particular example that showed how Lucic has been able to strike that important balance. Last November, Canadiens enforcer Georges Laraque tried to exact revenge on Lucic after a fight he decisively won over then-Habs defenseman Mike Komisarek.
“You had Laraque chasing him around the ice,” Julien recalled. “It was not even a consideration to have him [fighting again and] wasting his time in the penalty box with Georges Laraque because he’s worth a lot more than that to our hockey club.”
So from whom did Lucic learn when to drop the gloves and when not to? It could be from the man he is compared to so often, as he told the media Wednesday that Neely is always around for advice. In fact, that is one of the main reasons Lucic wanted to remain with the Bruins.
“It’s great. Anytime you need advice, he’s always there and obviously he’s been through pretty much everything,” Lucic said. “If something is not going right, on and off the ice, he can always give you advice. It’s great to have a guy like him around — a guy who cares so much about the team. Having him around is another reason I wanted to stay here.”
But while the Bruins are happy with Lucic’s maturity when it comes to staying out of the penalty box, they don’t mind the constant respect his presence adds to the lineup. It’s also helpful to have Lucic come in and pummel an opposing player every now and then.
“Anytime you have a player that does that, there’s momentum on your side and it certainly, like it did last game, picks up your bench,” Julien acknowledged. “But at the same time, it [brings] respect. And what we have here is him amongst many others on our team that are doing that. That’s why I feel we’re ‘team tough’ and there’s no doubt we’re tougher with Milan in that ‘team-tough’ concept.”
