Report: Lucic could be headed back to the Atlantic Division

After being drafted by the Boston Bruins 50th overall back in 2006 and spending 8 seasons with the Bruins organization, Milan Lucic has been a bit of a journeyman, splitting time over the last 7 seasons in Los Angeles, Edmonton and Calgary. However, according to Boston Hockey Now's Jimmy Murphy, a reunion with the Bruins could make some sense for Lucic.

The 34-year-old has been on a bit of a career tailspin since his second season with the Oilers and was in desperate need of a change of scenery. After spending two more seasons in Edmonton, Lucic was traded to the Calgary Flames for winger James Neal. After scoring just 6 goals in his final season with the Oilers, Lucic has seen his goal totals rise to 8, 10 and 10 over the past 3 seasons with the Flames, though his point totals still leave much to be desired.

Coming off of a season that saw him post just 21 points in 82 games, Lucic could be in need of another change of scenery, and what better way for him to find his game again than in the place where it all started? Lucic wouldn't be the top-six staple that he once was in Boston, but as a 3rd or 4th liner, he could make a lot of sense for the Bruins.


Most of the Lucic back to Boston talk had begun a couple weeks back at Tuukka Rask's wedding, after he was spotted rubbing elbows with his former teammates and having himself a great time.

The problem with a reunion in Boston is obviously the salary cap, which could prevent it from happening. With the Oilers having retained $750,000 of Lucic's $6M AAV, he carries a $5.25M cap hit next season, while the Bruins have just $4.7M in cap space with deals for Patrice Bergeron, Pavel Zacha and perhaps even David Krejci still needing to be inked. Even if the Flames agreed to eat 50% of Lucic's salary, it would still make for a pretty tight cap squeeze - and that's assuming that Bergeron and Krejci came back on 1-year, league minimum deals - which they likely won't. All of this to say that the Bruins are going to have to move out some significant salary in order to make it all fit.

Honestly, if the two sides are interested in a reunion, it might make more sense to wait for next summer when Lucic can be had at a more reasonable cap hit as a free agent.