Milan Lucic Highlights Major Difference Since First Bruins Tenure

BOSTON — It might come as a shock to most people, but Milan Lucic has spent just as much time away from the Bruins as he did with them.

In fact, Lucic has played more games with other franchises (607) than he did with the Bruins (566).

The 35-year-old has bounced around for the better part of the last decade, following up an eight-season stint in Boston with tenures as a member of the Los Angeles Kings, Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames. In that span he’s been far from the same All-Star caliber player he was during his initial stint with the Bruins, but has instead become a valuable addition as a veteran leader.

That’s what he hopes to become in Boston, as long as he can figure out how to navigate Warrior Ice Arena, the Bruins’ practice facility.

“When I came here the first day on Wednesday I had to figure out how to get in this place,” Lucic said following Bruins practice Friday. “It’s obviously great. They did a wonderful job building a first-class facility — from everything, from the dressing room, to the food, to the training room, to the weight room and all that type of stuff. It’s definitely second to none. It’s really great to experience this.”

Lucic barely missed out on experiencing the new(ish) facility, being traded to the Kings just 15 months prior to the day it opened.

Instead of having an opportunity to play at Warrior, Lucic and company practiced at Ristuccia Memorial Arena in Wilmington, Mass. The facility was not as nice as the new one, so maybe Lucic can turn comfortability into another great season with the Bruins.