Milan Lucic, who played with the Calgary Flames from 2019 to 2023, recently announced his retirement from the NHL.
Former Stanley Cup champion Milan Lucic announced his retirement on Sunday, hanging up his skates after 17 seasons. Calgary Flames fans will remember Lucic as one of the few players ever traded from their provincial rival, the Edmonton Oilers.
After nine seasons with the Boston Bruins, where he won a Stanley Cup in 2011, Lucic went to Los Angeles for one year before signing a blockbuster deal with the Oilers in 2016. During his first season in the Alberta capital, Lucic scored 23 goals and never duplicated that production again, leading to a trade to Calgary for James Neal on July 19, 2019.
The official trade was Lucic and a conditional third-round pick (Kirill Kirsanov) for Neal.
At 31 when he made his Flames debut, Lucic tallied eight goals and 20 points, finishing with a minus-6 rating, as the team's 11th highest scorer. The following season, Lucic collected 10 goals, finishing 8th in scoring with 23 points in 56 games, with a minus-8 rating.
On a Pacific Division-winning club in 2021-22, Lucic had the second-worst plus/minus rating on the team at minus-9, collecting 10 goals and 21 points in all 82 games. In his final campaign with the Flames, 2022-23, Lucic once again posted the second-worst plus/minus at minus-13 and had only seven goals and 19 points in 77 games.
In 283 games with Calgary, Lucic compiled a stat line that included 35 goals and 48 assists for 83 points and a minus-36 rating, with 227 penalty minutes.
The native of Vancouver, BC, debuted with the Bruins at 19, in 2007-08, and became a one-time 30-goal scorer in 2010-11, the same year he'd win his only Stanley Cup title. Known as a power forward who loved to hit and score big goals, Lucic scored more than 20 goals on five occasions and reached double digits in at least 10 seasons.
Overall, the 38-year-old finished with 1,177 NHL games, 233 goals, 586 points, 1,301 penalty minutes, and 3,275 hits. According to NHL.com statistics, Lucic's 3,275 hits rank fifth among players during his time in the league (2007-2024).