During the 2010s, Milan Lucic was a dominant force in the NHL. Over his 17 years in the league, he has racked up 233 goals and 353 assists for 589 points. He also made the playoffs eleven times with three different organizations, registering 27 goals and 47 assists for 74 points. He was also a big part of the Bruins' Stanley Cup run in 2011, tallying five goals and seven assists. Despite all this success, Lucic has been out of the league since November 2023 due to injuries and off-ice incidents.
But after taking a year off from hockey, Lucic is ready to make an NHL comeback, and with such an impressive track record, it's no wonder the Blues signed him to a PTO. While many see Lucic as a long shot to make the roster, if he has a strong training camp, it would be foolish not to put him on the NHL team. Given his success and the Blues' younger roster, his leadership would be incredibly beneficial. The only question is, how do you fit Lucic on this roster?
Fitting Milan Lucic into this Blues lineup
Lucic is no longer the elite player he was at the beginning of his career. Over his last few seasons in the NHL, we saw both his goals and assists numbers take a dramatic decline. However, what stayed the same was the number of hits he delivered. They stayed consistently around 150-230 hits a season, with him even going over those numbers in some seasons. This makes Lucic a perfect player for the bottom six. He's someone who can bring physicality and an intimidating presence.
The easiest place to put Lucic would be as the fourth line winger, which would make Mathieu Joseph the 13th forward. Throughout his career, Joseph has been an inconsistent forward. Sure, he's good on the penalty kill, but outside of that, he does not bring much to the table. He'll have a good game or two, then look invisible on the ice for the next five games. While this does not make for a good everyday starter, he's the perfect player to get spot starts.
Joseph is not the only fourth-line winger who could lose their job due to Lucic; the other one is Alexey Toropchenko. While there is a lot to like about Toropchenko, he is far from a finished product. Even after playing three years in the league, we've yet to see that true breakout. At what point do the Blues say they've waited long enough and move on for Toropchenko? Having a player like Lucic might make that tough decision a little easier.
It's a tough choice the Blues will have to make, and the best way to go about it is to let it play out in camp. If Toropchenko plays well during training camp, then have him play on the fourth line with Lucic and make Joseph the 13th forward. However, if Toropchenko struggles, it might be best for Lucic to replace him and have a serious conversation about Toropchenko's future. It's something we'll get a better idea of as camp plays out.