The old school goon has largely faded from today’s NHL, yet the St. Louis Blues may still feature one of the few holdovers from that era: Milan Lucic.
Now 37, Lucic is attempting to prolong his career under the terms of a professional tryout contract he agreed to last month. His path back is hardly straightforward: the veteran forward has not dressed for an NHL contest since November 2023, when he departed the Boston Bruins and subsequently entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program in the wake of a widely publicized domestic dispute. After spending the entire 2023–24 season away from competition, his re-entry into the league inevitably invites questions—not only about his physical preparedness, but also about whether there remains a meaningful place for his brand of hockey in today’s game.
Why Lucic?
Lucic’s purpose in St. Louis is singular: to provide muscle and to impart lessons in physical assertiveness to a younger roster. Beyond that, expectations are modest. This is no longer the Lucic who hoisted the Stanley Cup with Boston, nor the one who once carried significant minutes with the Los Angeles Kings and Calgary Flames. At his peak, Lucic was more than a menacing presence—he was a multidimensional power forward, capable of producing offensively while intimidating opponents with his physical edge. That version of Lucic, however, has been absent from the NHL landscape for nearly a decade.
Blues head coach Jim Montgomery, speaking to reporters on Sunday before the team’s departure for Columbus, underscored the point more broadly. He suggested that several players in camp must demonstrate far greater impact if they hope to earn a roster spot—a subtle reminder that reputation alone will not guarantee opportunity.
“See who’s going to start asserting themselves to wanting to make the Blues team,” Montgomery said. “It’s really that basic, who can show us the habits and details of [Nathan] Walker and [Alexey] Toropchenko, who has that dogged determination that Holloway plays with, who is the defenseman that is going to break up plays and look to jump and go like [Colton] Parayko and [Cam] Fowler and [Justin] Faulk do.”
Montgomery has every reason to be irritated. His club has stumbled through the opening stretch of the preseason without a win, and Sunday’s 4–1 defeat to the Columbus Blue Jackets offered little evidence of meaningful progress.
The Blues’ undoing was their own carelessness. In the offensive zone, they lacked crispness and repeatedly squandered possession through poor decisions with the puck. Those miscues inevitably swung momentum the other way, and the result was a performance that looked disjointed from start to finish. Yet, somewhat paradoxically, the most unexpected storyline of the evening was the play of Milan Lucic.
Far from being a peripheral figure, Lucic emerged as one of St. Louis’ more impactful skaters. He registered an assist on the team’s lone goal, generated another quality chance, and brought a brand of physical edge that has long defined his career. In 15:26 of ice time, Lucic demonstrated both effort and purpose, attributes that too many of the Blues’ younger players struggled to summon.
For all of Lucic’s controversies and the baggage that comes with his name, his intent was clear: he wants a place on this roster. And the Blues, in their current state, may need precisely that type of presence. A team still trying to establish its next identity cannot rely solely on emerging talent—it requires veterans who will demand accountability, sometimes through confrontation. Lucic’s unapologetic style, abrasive though it may be, could serve as a spark for a group that has yet to show the urgency required to compete at the highest level.