Lynn Worthy | Post-Dispatch
Sports columnist
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A second chance is just that: a chance. There’s no guarantee. There’s no commitment. It’s an open-ended proposition.
That’s where the relationship between the Blues and Milan Lucic sits as training camp gets into full swing.
Lucic, a 37-year-old veteran winger (left shot) who won a Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins in 2011, is trying to earn a spot back on an NHL roster after nearly two years out of the game and serious concerns about his off-ice behavior. This camp is his second chance.
“He’s got to win a job,” Blues head coach Jim Montgomery said Thursday of the prospect of Lucic making the team following the first official day of camp. “I know that sounds simple, but he’s got to be good 200 feet. He’s got to know what we’re doing defensively.
“And he’s got to — like there was one rush drill where he took it wide and that was NHL speed, and he took it hard to the net. Those are things that we think, as a team, we need to be better at than last yet. Maybe he’s someone that can help us.”
Lucic’s time away included a stint on long-term injured reserve followed by an indefinite leave of absence in the aftermath of a domestic violence accusation that put Lucic in the headlines for being charged with assault and battery on a family or household member.
Those charges stemmed from an incident Nov. 18, 2023, at his home in Boston. They were later dropped in February 2024, when his wife, Brittany, declined to testify against him.
Alcohol reportedly played a part in that incident, and Lucic recently discussed his personal demons away from the ice and his battles with substance abuse in an appearance on “The Cam & Strick Podcast.” During that appearance, Lucic credited Brittany for helping him get sober. He’s also done so in social media posts.
Montgomery, who has been open about his own road to sobriety, got his second chance as an assistant coach with the Blues after he was fired as head coach of the Dallas Stars as a result of his personal problems.
In a twist of fate, Montgomery was head coach of the Bruins when Lucic’s troubles took him out of hockey just four games into his short-lived second stint in Boston.
Last month, the Blues signed Lucic to a professional tryout that allows them to kick the tires to see if Lucic has something left to offer. They’ve taken no real financial risk, nor have they pushed anyone off the roster to make room for Lucic.
Lucic isn’t some young, high-upside prospect the Blues are buying low on in hopes of getting a steal. No, he’s at the point where he could very easily be out of the game for good.
His experience, physical presence and character must play a big part in his bid to make the club.
“We certainly did our due diligence,” Blues president of hockey operations and general manager Doug Armstrong said when I asked about the decision to bring Lucic into camp. “I talked to Milan, obviously. I talked to his family. I talked to his sponsor. I talked to the league. He’s 22 months sober now. There’s a lot of things that he does behind the scenes that I’ll let him describe, but I think one of the things that I appreciate about (Blues Chairman Tom Stillman) is his willingness to allow me to discuss second chances, allow me to paint the picture of why I believe it’s wort the risk.
“Sometimes it works out. Sometimes it doesn’t. It’s not just a second chance based on hockey. You have to have everything else in place, and Milan does. Now, it’s his responsibility to continue that off the ice.”
At 6-foot-3 and 240 pounds, Lucic brings an automatic presence to the ice. While he’d earned a reputation as one of the NHL’s tough guys — he’s had 98 fights since the start of the 2007-08 season according to hockeyfights.com, and he’s third among active players in penalty minutes — he also led that 2011 Stanley Cup Bruins team in points (62) and goals (30) during the regular season.
“Now, he’s got to see if he can play hockey in the NHL,” Armstrong said. “If he can, he’s an element player. He’s a big, strong player. He commands respect. He makes everybody on the team stand a little taller, maybe hang into the scrum a little longer knowing that he’s coming in behind them.
“He and I have talked about this. The NHL — I don’t think that we got pushed around last year, but there was three or four teams that felt a little more comfortable than they will be if he can still play and be on our roster.”
Lucic recorded 40 points or more seven times in his career, including two 60-point seasons, and scored 20 goals or more five times, though his point production sat around 20 points per season from the 2019-20 season through 2022-23 with the Calgary Flames.
“Big. Fast. Looks good,” Blues captain Brayden Schenn said of Lucic. “He’s a guy that you want on your team. He can control the bench and control the room. He’s a guy that when you have him on your team, guys know he’s out there. So that’s an important guy you need in your locker room and on your team. I’m looking forward to — I think we all are — to seeing him. Everyone speaks very highly of him that’s ever played with him.”
Lucic, a native of Vancouver, has been part of Team Canada in varying degrees over the years. He played for Team Canada in the IIHF World Championships in 2023, and Armstrong served as general manager for that team as well as for Canada’s 2026 Olympic squad.
“I was the manager of the World Championship team he was on a few years ago,” Armstrong said. “You spend a month with a guy, you get to know him. One of the things I shared with him when I was at the orientation camp in Calgary (was) how many of the competitors that were there are hoping good things for him.
“Not just the players like (former teammate Brad) Marchand, but he has universal respect for the way he plays the game, played the game, and guys — if he’s earned it, which I think he has off the ice — would love to see him write the chapter, whenever that finishing chapter is, different than the way it is today.”
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Lynn Worthy | Post-Dispatch
Sports columnist
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