Milan Lucic Believes This Will Happen Bruins Opening Night Vs. Chicago

The Boston Bruins weren’t the only team that was courting Milan Lucic ahead of the NHL free agency frenzy on July 1, but they were the team that landed the 35-year-old veteran.

Lucic talked with former NHL player John Scott on “Dropping the Gloves” about his decision to return to Boston and pull on the Spoked-B again on opening night.

Calgary Flames general manager Craig Conroy gave Lucic permission to speak to teams prior to the first day of free agency, which gave the 16-year veteran the opportunity to field calls from at least 10-15 teams across the league.

“There was a lot of interest (from other teams),” Lucic told Scott on Tuesday. “But I went with my heart and where it all started. I wanted to go back to being a Boston Bruin again.”

One of the first potential suitors to contact Lucic was the Chicago Blackhawks, who will be the Bruins’ opponent on opening night October 11 — a night the winger is definitely looking forward to.

“It’s one of the games I’m looking forward to the most in my career,” Lucic said. “It might hit me with a wave of emotion where I might even tear up, that’s how much I am looking forward to it.”

“It was such a big part of me, that I missed so much. I think it will really hit me with a big wave of emotion.”

Boston Bruins forward Milan Lucic

Tear up? The same player that is willing to drop the gloves with any player in the NHL? It’s a possibility.

“Because it’s Boston. Because it’s the fans. Because it’s the Garden. Because it’s the Original Six,” Lucic said. “Because I get to wear the jersey again. Because I get to represent the Bruins again. It was something that was such a big part of me, that I missed so much. I think it will really hit me with a big wave of emotion.”

Lucic believes one of the reasons he garnered so much attention was his decision to participate in the 2023 International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships held overseas in Finland and Latvia from May 12-28.

“A lot of the teams I talked to said they could still see the love for the game that I have,” Lucic explained. “… A lot of them said they could see it in my face, in my eyes. They could see how much fun I was having. … They could see that there was still fire left in me and that’s something they say sparked their interest in wanting me to be on their teams.”

Lucic added he believes playing in the tournament got him another contract in the NHL and ultimately decided Boston would be the place he would once again call home, after playing the first eight years of his NHL career with the Bruins.

Lucic believes that even though the Black and Gold suffered an early exit from the playoffs last year, Bruins fans shouldn’t be concerned because it’s something the franchise has experienced in the past.

“It’s funny, 2011 wasn’t even the best team I was on when I was here for eight years,” Lucic said. “2009, how good we were and we lost to Carolina, and then 2014 and we lost to Montreal. Those two teams were a lot better than the 2011 team but we had the core. We had the foundation to build around. We came off an epic collapse in 2010 and won in 2011. They had the collapse in 2023, who’s to say the same script can’t be written.”