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The 2014-15 season was a year of hits and misses for the Black and Gold.
In spite of a 96-point season, the Bruins saw their seven-year postseason streak come to an end, realized that their core may be aging faster than they originally anticipated, and ultimately saw their general manager take the fall for the club’s shortcomings. In the month of May, we’ll take a look at the season of every player on the B’s and their future with the club heading on into 2015-16.
The series continues with the club’s top-line winger of seven years,
Milan Lucic.
The Basics
Player: Milan Lucic
Age: 26
2014-15 Stats: 18 goals, 44 points, plus-13 rating in 81 games played.
Contract: $6,000,000 cap-hit through 2015-16.
How he got here: Drafted by the Boston Bruins with 50th overall pick in 2006 NHL Draft.
Overview
You could make the case that Milan Lucic’s season began just moments after Boston’s Game 7 loss to the Montreal Canadiens went final. It was in the post-series handshake line that Lucic, an always emotional player, reportedly told a few members of the Canadiens (Montreal defender Alexei Emelin and forward Dale Weise were the two, it appeared) that he was going to ‘kill them’ next season.
(Lucic didn’t kill Emelin nor Weise in the first Bruins-Canadiens meeting this past season, but rather take a borderline penalty at the end of the game before giving the Montreal crowd a piece of his mind by way of a lewd gesture, and subsequent fine and apology on behalf of himself and the Boston Bruins.)
It wasn’t the start the Vancouver, B.C. native had hoped for. The offseason loss of
Jarome Iginla, a natural leader that clearly found ways to motivate No. 17 for 82 games plus, and various injuries to
David Krejci, Lucic’s center since 2010, didn’t help, either.
“Too inconsistent, personally. Especially the way I started the season, I was very inconsistent and a very poor player in the first 35 games,” Lucic said of his season at the B’s year-end media availability. “I think I only had six goals by New Year’s, and that’s not acceptable from a personal note and from a team standpoint as well. But then I kind of got my game going in the right direction in the last six, seven weeks of the season, got things going again as far as the way I wanted to play.”
Lucic’s frustrating campaign ultimately took a fortunate turn when No. 17 was forced to play a ‘Father Figure’ like role on a line with
Ryan Spooner and
David Pastrnak, which was without question the Bruins’ top offensive trio down the stretch. (And maybe even the year as a whole.)
“Obviously I had a lot of fun playing with Spoons [Ryan Spooner] and Pasta [David Pastrnak] to end of the season there,” said Lucic. “We had some success together, and for myself, I just want to do the best I can to heal physically and heal mentally in this long offseason and bounce back as best as I can.”
The Good
There wasn’t a player happier to see say ‘Later!’ to 2014 more than Lucic, really. From January on, No. 17 recorded 12 goals and 26 points in 44 games. Or .59 points per game. Lucic had a bit more luck over that stretch, too, shooting a pretty lethal 14.4%. Compare this to Lucic’s 2014 figure featuring six goals and 18 points in 37 games played (.48 points per game). Lucic also shot 10.3% over that span, too.
So much of this, of course, comes back to the rather awkward position Lucic was in in the early part of the year. It was only natural, too. While most were quick to crucify Lucic for his lack of production without Krejci, it’s hard to find ways to play your game on the fly when the guy that’s fed you the puck for five years is suddenly in and out of the lineup on a near bi-weekly basis. I don’t care who you are, that’s an adjustment that takes time. And unfortunately, the Bruins, who struggled to remain competitive in the rollercoaster Eastern Conference, had little time to be patient with No. 17.
But when Lucic found steady linemates late in the regular season in Spooner and Pastrnak -- two speedy, electrifying offensive talents -- it was clear that Lucic regained his footing and ‘understanding’ of what he had to do to make that line a successful one. It wasn’t enough to propel the Bruins into the postseason, no, but it did put the notion that Lucic isn’t capable of playing without Krejci to bed.
The Bad
Well, things started poorly for Lucic. On top of beginning his season with a nine-game goalless drought, Lucic scored just three goals in Boston’s first 22 games of the year. He scored just twice in the 18 games that followed, as well. He was brutally hot and cold. And way more cold than hot, at that.
Lucic’s finish to the year left a bit to be desired, as well, as the Bruins’ season-ending three-game losing streak came and went with Lucic posting zeros across the board, along with a minus-3 rating and just four shots on goal. At the most important time of their year, Lucic struggled to be a factor.
And how could we forget his quick bout with Columbus defenseman
Dalton Prout.
For the first time in what felt like ages -- Lucic’s fight with the Leafs’
Colton Orr in 2010 is the last one that comes to mind -- Lucic was on the wrong end of a fight and found himself one-punched by Prout. The punch was heard ‘round the world (or the NHL), too, and led to Prout being ‘congratulated’ around the league for the punch. Even by a referee, no less. Yikes.
The Future
We’ve been over this numerous times by now, but the 6-foot-4 winger’s future in the Hub is a tough one to figure out, really. In a year in which Lucic’s numbers dipped across the board, and entering a contract year, the Black and Gold will need to figure out exactly what they have with No. 17 and if he’s a fit for their long-term plans. And as outlined before, it’ll be awfully tough to tell Lucic that he’s not worthy of a raise or that they think he should take a pay-cut. And you’ll have to say one of those things if you’re the Bruins, I think, given your cap issues (at the very least). That might sour the relationship.
I think they’ll get calls on Lucic before then, too. Now, for example, would I trade Lucic at the draft? Unless the offer is really really strong, it’s tough for me to see that happening. And when I say a ‘really really strong’ offer, I’m talking about a player like Taylor Hall. (I like Jordan Eberle, too, but I honestly feel as if acquiring Eberle at the expense of Lucic sorta negates the whole point of trading for him.)
Even so, I don’t think the Bruins are necessarily intent on trading Lucic out of the Hub.
And for good reason given his past success with Krejci on Boston’s top line. When they have a legitimate top-line winger on the right side (there’s a big difference between a Horton/Iginla type and a Seth Griffith, Craig Cunningham, or 18-year-old David Pastrnak), they’re an incredibly effective offensive punch that features a mix of size and skill. That’s a tough get in today’s NHL.
With all that in mind, too, Lucic wants to remain a Bruin.
“I hope to be here, and my plan moving forward is to always remain a Bruin, but like I said, the management group is going to do what’s best for this team and this organization,” said Lucic. “I hope that it’s me on the team moving forward, and I hope that I’m in their vision for the future, but I can only control so much. Like I said, I’m just going to do whatever I can with the time that I have here in this offseason to better myself so that I have a bounce back year.”
Lucic has spent his entire NHL career with the Bruins.
Previous Bruins Year in Reviews
Gregory Campbell
Brett Connolly
Svedberg signs in KHL
The Boston Bruins are down an NHL goalie with the news that 2014-15 NHL backup,
Niklas Svedberg, is leaving the NHL by way of a contract with Salavat Yulaev.
Svedberg finished his only full season with the Black and Gold of Boston with seven wins and a .918 save percentage in 18 games played.
The 25-year-old was set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, and seemed like an unlikely return to the Hub given his apparent frustration with a lack of playing time. His departure was inevitable, too, I think, as he clearly wasn't going to come back to the Boston, nor did it appear that
Claude Julien really trusted him to give him regular starts.
A native of Sollentuna, Swe., Svedberg was signed by the Bruins in May of 2012, and spent three years in the B's organization (two with Providence, and one with Boston).
Ty Anderson has been covering the Boston Bruins for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010, is a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter, and can be contacted on Twitter, or emailed at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com
Boston Bruins Blogger •Bruins Feature Columnist • 
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