Milan Lucic knew he wanted to return to the Bruins despite having interest from other teams in the offseason — including one Boston rival.
The Bruins signed Lucic to a one-year deal on the first day of free agency. The forward spent his first eight NHL seasons in Boston and won a Stanley Cup with the organization in 2011. Lucic was traded to the Los Angeles Kings ahead of the 2015-16 season before spending time with the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames.
Lucic said in July that there was “a lot of interest” in him. And one of those teams interested was the Toronto Maple Leafs.
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“Yeah. I talked to (Leafs general manager Brad Treliving) a little bit, obviously because I had Tre in Calgary there,” Lucic said during his appearance on the “Spititn’ Chiclets” podcast earlier this week. “So, he expressed some interest, and I was like, ‘Yeah, it would be tough for me to be a Leafer.’ Just because of the Boston connection.”
Lucic had plenty of experience playing against the Maple Leafs and was part of the Bruins when they eliminated Toronto from the Stanley Cup Playoffs in Game 7 in overtime of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals after being down 4-1 in the third period.
The 35-year-old also revealed the Blackhawks checked in with him. Lucic liked the idea of playing with Connor Bedard as well as playing in front the family he has in Chicago.
“Not only that, but you get to wear one of the nicest, if not the nicest, jerseys in the league,” Lucic said on the podcast. “Cool city. Awesome city. For me, I think I have the most family out of anywhere in Chicago. I would’ve been playing in front of family on a night-to-night basis.”
Lucic ended up going with his heart and returned to the city and the team he accomplished the ultimate goal with. The Bruins will look a little different next year — especially with Patrice Bergeron retiring — but Lucic is ready to be back at TD Garden as a home player and is excited for Oct. 11 when they open their season against the Blackhawks.
