Milan Lucic was surprised, thrilled to land with LA Kings

I lived my dream when we won the Stanley Cup. – It nearly seems too soon to think of Milan Lucic as a former Boston Bruin, but the hard-nosed left wing is fitting in at his new home.

Lucic had 18 goals and 26 assists for his worst numbers for a campaign in which he played at least 72 games since his second year with the Bruins.

The Kings gave the Bruins backup goaltender Martin Jones, defensive prospect Colin Miller and the 13th overall pick in the 2015 draft for Lucic.

But even though he did hear the rumors, Lucic said he was surprised to find out that L.A. was his landing spot.

“I expected the unexpected. I mean, I’m not a cheap cap hit, so that’s why I didn’t really expect it”, Lucic said.

“On paper, without me, they are still, I would say, one of the top five best teams in the league”, Lucic added.

Lucic assumed that joining the Kings was not feasible financially, believing the team would be unable to take on the last season of his three-year, $18 million contract with its limited flexibility under the salary cap. He will likely be tried on a line with Kopitar and right wing Marian Gaborik. He said he hasn’t had any preliminary discussions about a contract extension with Kings general manager Dean Lombardi, who is trying to re-sign center Anze Kopitar.

“I just want to get myself back to the player that I know I can be”.

As the 2014-15 season drew to a close and it became clear the Bruins would not make the playoffs, Lucic said he became very aware of the trade rumors swirling around him, despite the fact that he had spent eight years with the club and had become a fan favorite. “I think the intimidating factor is still a big part of the game”.

The 27 year old said goodbye to Boston in a note to his supporters, saying that he played in front of a group of fans he will never forget, giving special recognition to fans from Boston’s North End.

I want to thank the entire Jacobs family, Cam Neely, Peter Chiarelli, Don Sweeney, Scott Bradley and the rest of the Bruins management team; coaches Claude Julien, Geoff Ward, Doug Houda, Doug Jarvis, Craig Ramsey [sic] and Joe Sacco; captain Zdeno Chara and the rest of my teammates; the medical staff, trainers and strength coaches who kept me going; and of course, all the fans and my friends. He helped the Bruins win the Stanley Cup in 2011, and was a key player in the 2013 run to the Stanley Cup Final.