Leafs expressed interest in signing Milan Lucic this offseason

The Toronto Maple Leafs expressed interest in signing Milan Lucic earlier this summer.

After four seasons with the Calgary Flames, Lucic hit free agency this summer and ultimately signed a one-year, $1 million deal with the Boston Bruins. However, on the most recent episode of the Spittin’ Chiclets Podcast, the 35-year-old admitted that several other teams, including the Maple Leafs, showed interest in signing him.

“I talked to [Brad Treliving] a little bit,” Lucic admitted. “Obviously, because I had Tre in Calgary. He expressed some interest and I was like, ‘It would be tough for me to be a Leaf.'”

Lucic also said that the Chicago Blackhawks reached out, though ultimately he made the decision to go back to the city where his career began: Boston.

One thing Treliving has tried to do since being named as the Leafs’ general manager is add toughness to his roster. Though he wasn’t able to bring Lucic into the fold, he did sign Ryan Reaves to a three-year deal, while also bringing in Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi on one-year contracts.

While he is no longer the point-producing power forward he was earlier in his career, Lucic found a way to be effective in a bottom-six role during his time with the Flames. The unfortunate part was that he took plenty of criticism due to his $6 million salary, which he will no longer have to worry about.

In 77 games this past season, Lucic scored seven goals and 19 points while averaging 11:18 minutes in ice time. As proven by his 43 penalty minutes, he isn’t nearly as aggressive and willing to drop the gloves as he was early in his career, though when he does choose to it is clear that he is still one of the league’s premier heavyweights.

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