The Milan Lucic saga in Calgary may finally be over, and quite frankly it may even put an end to the Milan Lucic saga in Edmonton considering the Edmonton Oilers originally signed him to his much-maligned contract and were still paying him $750,000 this season due to the salary retained in the trade that sent him to the Calgary Flames.
It brings to an end a period in the career of Lucic that drastically altered the reputation he had as a player in the National Hockey League. Lucic would go from having the reputation of a dominant physical forward with the Boston Bruins, perhaps even among the most feared men in the entire league, to that of a largely overpaid and ineffective forward with the Oilers and Flames.
While it might be easy to suggest that Lucic can brush it off with the millions he has earned in the process, there’s no doubt that all of the controversy surrounding his play and his contract had to have taken a toll on the man, and following the conclusion of the 2022-23 NHL regular season, Lucic admitted as much.
“You want to live up to the expectations of what you’re getting paid and all that type of stuff… and I’m a proud person,” admitted Lucic.
Speaking to the media following the conclusion of the season, a “glassy-eyed” Milan Lucic admitted that it had been a struggle for him during the low points of his tenure with the Flames, and he thanked the fans for keeping his love of the game alive with their chants of “Looch” every time he touched the pucked.
“I gotta say [the fans] made it fun for me again, and I thank the people here for that,” said Lucic.
In fact, things would get so bad for Lucic at some points during his tenure in Calgary that the bruising forward admitted he contemplated stepping away from the game altogether at times.
“It wasn’t fun… and it got to a point for me when it wasn’t fun coming to the rink anymore and all that type of stuff,” admitted Lucic. “It was tough at one point… but that’s why I’m thankful and grateful to have the people around me that I’ve had here in Calgary.”