His physical presence can change the complexion of a contest, whether it’s with a bone-jarring hit, a highlight-reel fight or crashing the net to bang in a rebound.
But Lucic wasn’t his usual belligerent self for much of last year. He missed 32 games with a broken finger and a high ankle sprain. And even after he returned from the ankle injury in early January, he was never at a full strength the rest of the year.
"Not even at the end. I never felt like myself," said Lucic at the club’s breakup day in May. "I felt like I wasn’t able to have the same push, ever since that injury happened. It’s good that I have the summer here to regain that and make sure that everything is back to normal."
But will Lucic be back at 100 percent and be a dominant physical presence again this year? The most disconcerting piece of info Lucic revealed in his end-season interview was just how long a recovery period can be for an injury like what Lucic suffered. It can take up to 18 months to fully heal, which means he could still be battling the lingering affects throughout the upcoming season.
"That’s what they usually say," said Lucic. "People who have had it before always told me it’s usually a year and a half until it’s back to normal.
"I never thought there could be something like this, where an injury could be on and off, on and off," added Lucic, who admitted he tweaked the injury in the second-to-last regular-season game against Carolina and battled through the pain and discomfort throughout the playoffs. "It is the toughest thing that I’ve ever had to go through and hopefully I’ll never go through something like this again."
The scary thing is that a hobbled Lucic still led the Bruins with 42 hits in 13 postseason games, and was second on the club with five playoff goals. He added four assists and 19 penalty minutes and looked more like the Lucic of old, even if he still wasn’t feeling like his old self.
The injuries derailed what could have been a memorable season for Lucic. He was invited to Team Canada’s evaluation camp last summer, but lost any chance of being invited to Vancouver when he was sidelined. The ankle injury also kept him out of the lineup for the Winter Classic at Fenway, and the playoff collapse against Philadelphia provided the exclamation point on a season full of frustration.
"It seems like this year for me was kind of a story of missed opportunities," said Lucic. "I missed an opportunity to play in the Olympics in my hometown. The Winter Classic — there’s another opportunity I might never have back. What just happened [against the Flyers] obviously, having an opportunity to go to the third round [of the playoffs]. That’s another missed opportunity. So there was a lot of disheartening stuff this year.
"It wasn’t meant to be for me this year," added Lucic. "So hopefully things can take a turn for the best and I’m going to be doing whatever I can to make sure that everything gets taken care of and gets made right."
Lucic will also have to deal with a new set of pressures and expectations this year as his lucrative contract extension kicks in. He’ll be trying to prove he’s worth the $4.083 million cap hit he carries for the next three years, but knows he can’t get away from the style that’s made him successful so far.
"I put more pressure on myself," admitted Lucic after the season. "I think the main thing when you make more money obviously it comes with more expectations. But I need to just remember and realize that when I try to do too much, that’s when my game [suffers]. That’s when it doesn’t work. But if I just stick to my roots and play that simple game, everything falls in place and the scoring comes. I felt the pressure early on of signing the new deal, for sure. I don’t know how I’m going to feeling coming back here next year, but I’m going to do everything I can to live up to the expectation of being that type of player."
The Bruins need scoring from Lucic and his 17 goals in 2008-09 and playoff success this spring hint at the potential for even greater production there. But with a forward corps that lacks size and toughness on the top lines, Lucic’s physical presence is even more important. He’s averaged 2.93 hits a game in his first three seasons, and pushed that up to 3.8 a game in the playoffs.
If he can continue to pressure defensemen into turnovers with his hitting and create space for his linemates, the goals will come. And then the Bruins can get back to marveling at his hits along the boards, instead of worrying about his cap hits.
NESN.com will answer one Bruins question every day in August.
Sunday, Aug. 1: Can the Bruins' offense withstand the loss of Marc Savard if he is traded?
Tuesday, Aug. 3: What can the Bruins expect from Tyler Seguin this year?
