Milan Lucic- Done and gone or here to stay?

[Dallas Eakins*]

If he needs rookies like Pastrnak and Spooner to get him going then he's a secondary role player and doesn't deserve top line money.

Well this is pretty much a bold faced lie. He needs NHL caliber line mates like most do so shoot him.

 

[Bi Coastal Bawse*]

Lucic is now the second most polite Bruin on the ice next to Loui Eriksson.

He will be contending for the Lady Byng Trophy next season.

Typical

 

[Odie]

Just the truth.

Except you're wrong. There's that.

 

[dabid]

the lady bing is a fine award. many players would be proud to win it

 

[Latrappe]

Not surprised that this thread turned into a " I love my Milan; don't trade my Milan" thing. People should understand that the Bruins are at a crossroad. They're not contender anymore and they need to add significant pieces and not only marginal upgrades. Like it or not, the team doesn't have the depth nor the youth to fill a top 4 D-man void. They need to go on the market and trade for one. Then, the tough question arrive: Which quality player do you trade? I will put the emphasis on the word quality because there's too much fans who want to give garbage for an impact player.

All signs point to a Milan departure. Smith was signed to an extension; Bergy and Krejci are signed long term and Lucic will ask and get ( probably somewhere else) an hefty raise. Bruins can't afford that. Aside the financial commitment, the Bruins have to ask themselves this extra-tough question: Do the team wants to pay 6.5 or 7 per for a guy who DO NOT bring it every night. While it was true that #17 was a game changer in the early stage of his career, I don't think it's true anymore. More then anything, Milan is becoming a pretty good passenger. To me, a player become a problem or an " high maintenance" item when you have to shuffle the roster around him to make him produce. This is definitely the case with #17. I fully understand that fans doesn't want to see their beloving players leaves. I would be very disappointed to see Bergeron leaving this team. But if there's one thing that I learned after watching hockey for all those years it's this one: you can't fall in love with player.

 

[Cougar Saucy]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...ppointing-player-in-the-2014-15-season/page/4

Seems fitting to include this Bleacher Report article in this discussion

 

[PlayoffBeard365]

Lucic is easily the most frustrating Bruin player in my opinion. Personally I don't like him. But, if his effort/compete level is there he is a force and great to watch.

The problems I see are 2 fold. 1) His current and probably future play is based on IF's. If he skates, if he plays with Krecji, if he plays with the kids, if he hits, if he scores, if he attacks etc. Yes, we can't expect Super Man on a nightly basis but he is not the player soooo many people make him out to be. The eye test and stats show that blatantly. A true star goes out and just does, despite the circumstances. Looch is not a star!!!

2) There is no option B or plan B that makes business sense for the FO to trade/not sign him. I mean he is loved here and many fans view him as everything this franchise represents. You can't get rid of someone like that in the prime of their career deserved or not. In most fans eyes LOOCH is an A level top line player. Reality is that he has shown brief stints of A level play and has been a huge impact player in the playoffs for us but is waaaay too inconsistent. Anyway, I think fan base pressure makes a trade difficult and not resigning him unthinkable.

So, does he deserve a raise and new contract ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! Will he get it ABSOLUTELY!!! I guess that's what a true 2nd line forward with size and some history gets in today's NHL.

 

[WhalerTurnedBruin55]

Not surprised that this thread turned into a " I love my Milan; don't trade my Milan" thing. People should understand that the Bruins are at a crossroad. They're not contender anymore and they need to add significant pieces and not only marginal upgrades. Like it or not, the team doesn't have the depth nor the youth to fill a top 4 D-man void. They need to go on the market and trade for one. Then, the tough question arrive: Which quality player do you trade? I will put the emphasis on the word quality because there's too much fans who want to give garbage for an impact player.

All signs point to a Milan departure. Smith was signed to an extension; Bergy and Krejci are signed long term and Lucic will ask and get ( probably somewhere else) an hefty raise. Bruins can't afford that. Aside the financial commitment, the Bruins have to ask themselves this extra-tough question: Do the team wants to pay 6.5 or 7 per for a guy who DO NOT bring it every night. While it was true that #17 was a game changer in the early stage of his career, I don't think it's true anymore. More then anything, Milan is becoming a pretty good passenger. To me, a player become a problem or an " high maintenance" item when you have to shuffle the roster around him to make him produce. This is definitely the case with #17. I fully understand that fans doesn't want to see their beloving players leaves. I would be very disappointed to see Bergeron leaving this team. But if there's one thing that I learned after watching hockey for all those years it's this one: you can't fall in love with player.

Very well written and I agree.

As for trading, in order to get, we need to give. That goes with any valuable player on the team. If you want a covetted player, you most likely need to give up something you don't want to. Right now the team can't afford to pay 6+ to a passenger. This same message goes with any of our players, too, not strictly Lucic.

Change is coming.

 

[Estlin]

Very well written and I agree.

As for trading, in order to get, we need to give. That goes with any valuable player on the team. If you want a covetted player, you most likely need to give up something you don't want to. Right now the team can't afford to pay 6+ to a passenger. This same message goes with any of our players, too, not strictly Lucic.

Change is coming.

I agree. (By the way, great post, Latrappe.) Trading Lucic would probably be the best thing that Boston does in the off season, especially if he is the centerpiece of a package to land a player like Taylor Hall.

 

[ODAAT]

I agree. (By the way, great post, Latrappe.) Trading Lucic would probably be the best thing that Boston does in the off season, especially if he is the centerpiece of a package to land a player like Taylor Hall.

Love Taylor Hall, hate that he`s injured like Lupul which is, seemingly constantly, if I`m moving Looch, it`s for a guy who doesn`t miss as much time as Hall

 

[Oates2Neely]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...ppointing-player-in-the-2014-15-season/page/4

Seems fitting to include this Bleacher Report article in this discussion

He's the teams 3rd leading scorer (ahead of guys such as Marchand & Soderberg). He leads the team in hits (9th in the NHL). He's found great chemistry with two of the teams young up & coming forwards (hottest/ most productive line down the stretch as the team tries to secure a playoff spot).

I don't understand why Lucic is a lighting rod for criticism this season. He's on pace to finish 5 to 7 points below his typical average (in a season where his centerman Krejci has been mostly injured). Kelly Griffith & now two rookies who aren't old enough to purchase alcohol yet have been his line mates for the majority of the season. A guy like Marchand, who has been stapled to Patrice Bergeron's wing is on pace to finish the season with less points than Lucic, yet he escapes the same criticism?

Many here are assuming Lucic will seek a "7 or 8 years at $7m+" contract extension this offseason with nothing to base this off. Let's wait until his agent actually requests that before we are ready to ship him off for such demands. It could be an 8yr/ $7.5m per request or it can be a 3yr/ $6.5m request... Nobody here knows for sure.

I've said this before, I hope all the passengers on the "trade Lucic" train are prepared to watch him score 25-30 goals & 60-70 points all whilst being top-10 in the league in hits in another uniform (in a non-Clode offense).

 

[Gonzothe7thDman]

Well this is pretty much a bold faced lie. He needs NHL caliber line mates like most do so shoot him.

And yet on a line with Krejci he has looked lethargic plenty of times.

Kind of a hole in your theory

 

[DKH]

Except you're wrong. There's that.

from the guy who thinks Erica Karlsson is better than Bobby Orr

 

[Johnmbs1962]

If they do move Lucic then he just better have a lot of company.....that can't be the only big move they do....

If you move Lucic cause he makes too much money for his abilities and Seidenberg and Smith are on the roster next season you have solved nothing.....at least half the roster needs to go if you're moving this guy, and maybe that's what needs to happen......

 

[jgatie]

from the guy who thinks Erica Karlsson is better than Bobby Orr

Now, now, it's not nice to make fun of the insane.

 

[kytem2]

from the guy who thinks Erica Karlsson is better than Bobby Orr

Nope, I never wrote that. I just said that Orr would not be dominant in this era. Karlsson is not dominant either, no one is.

 

[C77]

Time to move on in my opinion unless Lucic wants to sign for $5 million a year.

The team should probably be going into a re-tooling mode so it's extremely unlikely that keeping any one single player is going to bring Stanley back to Boston in the next couple of years.

Priority number one of course should be to rebuild the defense. Chara and Seidenberg aren't getting younger. Hamilton is the only "big minutes" guy .

The young players are going to need time to mature and the older ones need to be moved out.

 

[zaYG]

I've been one of the biggest "trade Lucic" proponents but if he is glued to Spooner and Pastrnak for the future I suppose I wouldn't mind having him around on a decent contract.

 

[ORR2Sanderson2ORR]

Nope, I never wrote that. I just said that Orr would not be dominant in this era. Karlsson is not dominant either, no one is.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

You sir should have a life time bad of anything to do with Hockey! That is absolutely ludicrous!

It's not even worthy of a discussion if your that blind. As Milt Schmidt once said if there's ever a Hockey player put on this earth better than Bobby Orr I sure hope God lets me to stay around to see him.

 

[WhalerTurnedBruin55]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

You sir should have a life time bad of anything to do with Hockey! That is absolutely ludicrous!

It's not even worthy of a discussion if your that blind. As Milt Schmidt once said if there's ever a Hockey player put on this earth better than Bobby Orr I sure hope God lets me to stay around to see him.

It's absolutely ludicrous to try to compare the generations. We will never really know, will we?

Speaking only of this generation, I do think the discrepancy of talent between the upper tier and the next isn't as far apart as it has been in previous generations. Not taking ANYTHING away from Orr, but it's virtually impossible to know what Orr would look like in today's NHL.

 

[WhalerTurnedBruin55]

He's the teams 3rd leading scorer (ahead of guys such as Marchand & Soderberg). He leads the team in hits (9th in the NHL). He's found great chemistry with two of the teams young up & coming forwards (hottest/ most productive line down the stretch as the team tries to secure a playoff spot).

I don't understand why Lucic is a lighting rod for criticism this season. He's on pace to finish 5 to 7 points below his typical average (in a season where his centerman Krejci has been mostly injured). Kelly Griffith & now two rookies who aren't old enough to purchase alcohol yet have been his line mates for the majority of the season. A guy like Marchand, who has been stapled to Patrice Bergeron's wing is on pace to finish the season with less points than Lucic, yet he escapes the same criticism?

Many here are assuming Lucic will seek a "7 or 8 years at $7m+" contract extension this offseason with nothing to base this off. Let's wait until his agent actually requests that before we are ready to ship him off for such demands. It could be an 8yr/ $7.5m per request or it can be a 3yr/ $6.5m request... Nobody here knows for sure.

I've said this before, I hope all the passengers on the "trade Lucic" train are prepared to watch him score 25-30 goals & 60-70 points all whilst being top-10 in the league in hits in another uniform (in a non-Clode offense).

Actually 4th, but I mean who is really checking facts these days? Statistically, he is 25th in points for all LW. So sure, no one is denying he is good. But at what price? Phil Kessel is good. But is he 8 million good? What Lucic wants, either way, will determine his fate.

Either way, like most of us here agree. We need to know what his actual numbers are going to look like. From there we need to make a hard decision. It's either extension or move him. And there are a lot of factors there. And as a team, we simply cannot afford handing out another bad contract. So if there is an extension it needs to be done intelligently. As it stands, right now paying him 6 million is questionable. Let alone giving him a raise.

25-30 goals and 60-70 points? He's done that twice. 2011 and 2012. I'm not taking that away from him. But you need to look at the team as structured now. Our superstar defenseman isn't a superstar anymore and declining. The rest of the team around him is either overpaid or underperforming. He's not producing in that ballpark now, and questionably will he do it again with our current core. That needs to be taken into consideration moving forward. If he does get an extension, even at the his current salary, all eyes are still on him to produce (on the score sheet and physically). $$$ to produce results. He does that, we are all sitting here happy, and not having this thread. It's all just business.

 

[Ladyfan]

I've been one of the biggest "trade Lucic" proponents but if he is glued to Spooner and Pastrnak for the future I suppose I wouldn't mind having him around on a decent contract.

Nice to see you come around.

Close to half of the "no" votes are not B's fans.

 

[Bruins40]

Give him a contract for half the price he has now, if he declines trade him for somethibg