Tale of Two Cities: Milan Lucic goes full circle in return to Boston

Much has changed since the last time Milan Lucic was in Boston -- for the Bruins and Lucic himself. After his first organized training session, Lucic reflects on the past and looks ahead

BRIGHTON, Mass. – When Milan Lucic first arrived in Boston for training camp in 2007, he didn’t know how long he’d be staying. The 19-year-old forward was fresh off leading the Vancouver Giants to a Memorial Cup championship, and he figured he’d return to defend the title the following season. All he brought with him to Boston was a single bag and his hockey equipment.

“I was more in the mindset of, ‘Okay, I’m gonna go have a good camp, leave a good impression, and go back and try to repeat,’” Lucic told reporters on Friday.

“As cuts went on, I never got a call or a knock on my hotel room or anything like that.”

As it would turn out, Lucic made the Bruins roster out of camp and never went back. After eight years with the Bruins and eight more split between the Los Angeles Kings, Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames, the now-35-year-old’s second arrival in Boston looked a lot different.

“This time around, it was 23 bags and three kids and all that,” Lucic said. “It’s a different time in my life.”

The Bruins are also in a different place than when he left after the 2014-15 season. Gone are the players he came up with that led the team to the 2011 Stanley Cup. Well, save for Brad Marchand.

“Actually, ‘Marchy’ did the old ‘I was in the neighborhood and just popped in’ one of the first days we were here,” Lucic said. “Great to reunite with him. I said this summer, me and him, we have a long connection, you know, being drafted together (in 2006), being the same age, and obviously doing what we’ve done together.”

With the rest of that old core gone, Lucic said one of the reasons he wanted to return to Boston was to uphold the culture that cornerstones such as Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci and more helped put in place.

There will be another familiar face helping Lucic in the leadership department in David Pastrnak, who has also come a long way since Lucic left the team. The two played together for just one season, Pastrnak’s rookie year in 2014-15, not only spending a solid chunk of the season on the same line, but also having dinner when Lucic would cook for the 18-year-old.

Since then, Pastrnak has blossomed into one of the League’s best players.

“That stretch that we had as linemates, we had a lot of fun playing together,” Lucic said. “To see him grow into a top five, top 10 player... has been really awesome to see, so I’m excited to be back with him as well.”

While the two will be sharing the locker room again, their days of playing on the same line are long gone.

Lucic knows his role in his second stint in Boston will come on the fourth line, but he still relishes the opportunity.

“When you lose guys, there’s [an] opportunity for other guys to step in certain roles,” he said. “And for me, obviously, I think it’s more of a leadership role, physical role, and then just being myself on a day-to-day basis.”