Milan Lucic announced his retirement from the NHL on Sunday.
The forward leaves the League on his 38th birthday. He won the Stanley Cup with the 2010-11 Boston Bruins and played 1,177 regular-season games (586 points; 233 goals, 353 assists) for Boston, the Los Angeles Kings, Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames.
“Looking back on my career, I feel truly grateful to have fulfilled my dream of playing professional hockey, culminating with a Stanley Cup win in 2011 with the Boston Bruins,” Lucic said in a statement released by the NHL Players’ Association. “I want to especially thank the Bruins for giving me my start in professional hockey and for instilling the confidence to reach new heights as a player.”
Selected by the Bruins in the second round (No. 50) of the 2006 NHL Draft, Lucic made the team as a 19-year-old for the 2007-08 season and had 27 points (eight goals, 19 assists) in 77 games. The rugged forward had three seasons of at least 24 goals, including an NHL career-high 30 goals with a career-best 62 points in 2010-11. He had 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in 25 Stanley Cup Playoff games en route to Boston’s last NHL championship, the 4-0 win against the Vancouver Canucks in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final coming at Rogers Arena in his native city.
Lucic was traded to the Kings by the Bruins on June 26, 2015, signed a seven-year contract with the Oilers on July 1, 2016, and was traded to the Flames on July 19, 2019. He had an assist in his 1,000th NHL game, a 3-2 overtime win for Calgary against the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 13, 2021.
“Later in my career, I had the privilege of playing with some exceptional organizations in Los Angeles, Edmonton and Calgary,” Lucic said. “I look back with fondness at the time I spent with each organization and for the remarkable teammates I had the pleasure of playing alongside.”
Lucic signed a one-year, $1 million contract to return to the Bruins on July 1, 2023, last playing in the NHL when he had an assist in a 4-2 win at the Kings on Oct. 21 of that year. He signed a professional tryout contract with the St. Louis Blues on Aug. 19, 2025, and another PTO with the Blues’ American League Hockey affiliate in Springfield on Nov. 4, which was terminated Nov. 25.
“I want to extend my heartfelt appreciation to all the coaches, staff and fans from each team I was a part of,” Lucic said. “I also want to thank my agent, Gerry Johannson, for his guidance during my playing days. Finally, none of this would have been possible without my family for their encouragement throughout my career. I would like to especially thank my wife Brittany for her love and support along with my three beautiful children, Valentina, Nikolina and Milan Jr.”
