Along with Zdeno Chara and Brad Marchand, Milan Lucic was one of the Montreal Canadiens’ fanbase’s most hated players during his tenure with the Boston Bruins.
Funnily enough, Lucic came very close to stepping over enemy lines and signing with the Habs as a free agent during the 2016 offseason.
In a recent interview on fellow NHL tough guy John Scott’s podcast, Dropping the Gloves, Lucic revealed how the deal almost came to be.
“I end up being, all of a sudden, the number one guy for free agency,” Lucic explains. “And it’s really funny (…) the most serious conversations were with the Montreal Canadiens.”
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Lucic says he had four separate meetings with former Habs General Manager Marc Bergevin over the summer, but his strong ties to his former team ultimately kept him from accepting an offer.
“Everything was on the table for me to go to Montreal, but at the end of the day, I was like, ‘Man, I don’t know if I can do this (…) the Boston faithful might hate me if I do this.”
While it obviously never panned out, Lucic told Scott that his friendships with Shea Weber, who had just joined the team at the time, along with Carey Price and Brendan Gallagher, were factors in his almost coming to Habs land.
How fans would’ve reacted to the news, though, is up for debate.
Lucic ultimately settled on a contract with the Edmonton Oilers that year, sticking around for the following three seasons. These days, he ironically plays for the Calgary Flames, their provincial rival.
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