Multiple former Los Angeles Kings players have signed with other Western Conference foes on PTA contract deals this offseason and going into the upcoming 2025-26 season. On Aug. 19, the St. Louis Blues became the latest team from the West to sign a former Kings player to a tryout deal late this offseason for 2025.
Ex-Los Angeles Kings forward Milan Lucic is among the former Kings players signing PTA contract deals this offseason
At 37 years old, Lucic is looking to make a comeback from a lower-body injury that he suffered in the 2023-24 regular season with the Boston Bruins in the East. Soon after suffering the ankle injury with the Bruins in the 2023-24 season, Lucic checked into the Player Assistance Program for the NHL for an alleged instance with domestic violence in the fall of 2023.
After the charges against Lucic were dropped in February 2024, his path to make a comeback in the NHL opened up over the past year or so.
It was announced a couple of weeks ago, on Aug. 19, that Lucic signed a deal with the Blues for a professional tryout agreement going into training camp and the preseason this fall. The Blues are looking to potentially get a cheap and cap-friendly deal to add to the roster if Lucic ends up on the projected team roster for St. Louis this upcoming season in the West.
Even when Lucic was still playing in the NHL a couple of years ago in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 campaigns for the Bruins and Calgary Flames (2022-23 season), he clearly wasn't the same player he used to be regarding his goal-scoring and speed for the forward lines. Lucic only scored 14 points in over 80 games played in two seasons before joining the Player Assistance Program in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons with the Flames and Bruins, respectively.
There is also the question regarding Lucic's potential risk for lower-body injuries, given that he was placed on injured reserve by Boston in the 2023-24 season after playing four games for the Bruins.
Lucic was originally drafted 50th overall in the second round by the Bruins in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. He played nine seasons with the Bruins, and won a Stanley Cup in Boston in the 2010-11 season.
In the 2015-16 season, Lucic scored 20 goals and tallied up 55 total points for the Kings in over 80 regular season games played with LA and former head coach Darryl Sutter.
Lucic last played four games for the Bruins in the 2023-24 season, where he scored two points and two assists for Boston.