Horton in, Lucic out

Nathan Horton is in the lineup tonight and skating on the top line with Marc Savard and Michael Ryder. Horton missed the previous two games due to an undisclosed injury. In other injury news, Milan Lucic is out of the lineup tonight because of an upper body injury. Lucic left the early from last night’s game against Pittsburgh. His status is reportedly day-to-day.

Lucic fined, not suspended

Milan Lucic had his hearing today regarding the match penalty he received in Thursday’s game against Atlanta. As a result Lucic will be fined $2500 for the punch he threw and $1000 for his gesture towards the Atlanta bench.

Lucic to return tonight

According to the Boston Globe, Milan Lucic will play tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks. With Lucic’s expected return, Byron Bitz should be the healthy scratch.

Lucic update

Milan Lucic has been skating for the past week but has yet to practice with the rest of the team. The majority of his skating has been with the training and coaching staffs. Lucic will make the trip with the Bruins to Florida but is not expected to play in either game.

Encouraging news that Lucic is skating, especially multiple times this week.  I would not expect him to return until after the two games in Florida but he should be available for the Winter Classic and possibly for Wednesday’s game against Atlanta.  When Lucic comes back expect Begin to be bumped back to the fourth line with Vladimir Sobotka and Byron Bitz fighting for the final roster spot.

Two Recalled; Lucic to IR

The Bruins have announced that Adam McQuaid and Andy Wozniewski have been recalled from Providence on an emergency basis.  With the recall of two defensemen it is likely that Dennis Wideman, who missed the entire third period, will not be available for at least Friday’s game. There is also speculation that Mark Stuart was injured in Monday’s game, meaning the iron man may possibly be unavailable. In addition, Milan Lucic has been placed on LTIR. Placing Lucic on LTIR, has no impact on his status. It is simply a cap procedure allowing them to carry two additional players.  With the two additional players, the Bruins would have a total of 24 players on their roster, exceeding the 23 player cap limit. However, placing Lucic on LTIR means he must miss a minimum of ten games and 24 calendar days (retroactive to the last game played), meaning he is still available to come back and play in the Winter Classic.

Lucic shouldn’t rush back

Milan Lucic has been out since November 25th due to a high ankle sprain. However, with the absence of Lucic the Bruins have picked up 7 out of a possible 10 points.  The physical winger would have been great to have in a game against the Montreal Canadiens, one in which the Bruins were completely flat and emotionless from the drop of the puck.  Now with the winter classic approaching ( 10 games away), Lucic is hoping to get back on the ice in time to be able to play on New Years. Typically a high ankle sprain keeps a player out 4-6 depending on the severity of the injury. When Lucic originally suffered the injury, GM Peter Chiarelli stated it should be around a month before Lucic can return to action. While the Bruins would love to have him back for the nation wide event, do not expect them to rush him specifically since high ankle sprains are difficult to heal from and often can be reoccurring.  It would be best for the Bruins to ease him back, ensuring his health for the remainder of the season instead of having a possible setup occur if he rushes back too soon.

Lucic to miss 4 weeks

In a press conference held today, GM Peter Chiarelli announced that Milan Lucic could miss up to four weeks with a high ankle sprain.

Yet another injury to the Bruins, as this is Lucic’s second time getting bit by the injury bug. Expect Vladimir Sobotka to be inserted into the lineup in Lucic’s absence.

Lucic, Savard activated

The Bruins have activated both Milan Lucic and Marc Savard from LTIR. Lucic is a game time decision for tonight’s game against Atlanta. Savard is not expected to play tonight, with tomorrow night’s game being a possible return date.

Lucic to miss 4-6 weeks

According to Peter Chiarelli, Milan Lucic will miss 4-6 weeks because of a broken thumb on his right hand after having surgery on it this morning.  Lucic is a lefthanded shooter but a right handed fighter. With proper rest and treatment he should return to form, but it makes you wonder if he’ll be hesitant to drop the gloves.

Lucic to LTIR

The Bruins placed Milan Lucic on the long term injury reserve with a broken finger.  By being placed on LTIR, Lucic must miss at least 10 games and 24 calendar days.  This is a big blow to the Bruins offensive depth.

Lucic injured, Lefebvre recalled

Milan Lucic suffered an injury in the third period of last night’s win against Dallas and will not play in tonight’s game.  His injury and status are unknown. Guillaume Lefebvre was recalled on an emergency basis. Expect Byron Bitz to be moved up to one of the top three lines.

UPDATE: Lucic has a broken finger on his punching hand (right). There is no timetable on his recovery.

Analyzing the Lucic Deal

Milan Lucic signed a three year, 12.25 million dollar deal, which amounts to 4.083333 million dollars per season.  Now before we make judgement to if we overpaid, we must take into account other deals similar players signed.  I will use Dustin Brown, and Ryan Clowe.

Dustin Brown, the 13th overall pick of the 2003 NHL draft signed a six year, 19.05 million dollar contract at the beginning of his third year, a la Milan Lucic.  The deal broke down with salaries of 2.6, 2.45, 3.5, 3.5, 3.5, 3.5 with a cap hit of 3.175 million dollars.  His first full season, he had 14 goals and 14 assists.  In his second season he had 17 goals and 29 assists.  In his third full season, the one in which he signed the extension, he broke out for 33 goals 27 assists.  Lucic on the other hand had 8 goals and 19 assist for 27 points.  In his second season, he had 17 goals and 29 assists.  Lucic is right on par with Brown’s career path.

Ryan Clowe, the 175th overall pick of the 2001 NHL draft, signed a four year, 14.5 million dollar deal, with the salaries at 3.5, 3.5, 3.5 and then 4, which is 3.625 million per season.  Clowe signed the extension this offseason, after scoring 22 goals and 30 assists.  His 2008-09 campaign was injury plagues, and in his first full season, he posted 16 goals and 18 assists in only 58 games.

Brown……3.175
Clowe…… 3.625
Lucic…….4.083

Now, Lucic has never surpassed 20 goals, but he has shown progression and could turn into a 20 goal scorer.  His offensive skills are not that of Clowe or Brown.  The issue with the Lucic deal is that the term is not long enough to justify the money.  Brown’s deal was six years for a bargain price with similar numbers to Lucic.  Clowe signed a four year deal, but he was buying out UFA years as he was 26 when he signed the deal.  If Lucic’s deal was for less money, closer to Krejci, than we could justify it for the years, or if the term was longer, we could justify the money, but that’s not the case.  While everyone should be happy Lucic re-signed, the money is a little to much for my taste.  While Lucic is a unique player, his offensive skill does not reward a 4 million dollar salary at this time of his career.

Lucic Signs Three Year Extension

Good news for Bruins fans, Milan Lucic signed a three year extension today.

BOSTON, MA – Boston Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli announced today that the club has signed forwardMilan Lucic to a three-year contract extension through the 2012-13 NHL season. Per club policy, financial terms of the deal will not be disclosed.

The 21-year-old Lucic set career highs in all major statistical categories last year after recording 17 goals and 25 assists for 42 points, in addition to tallying 136 penalty minutes and a +17 rating. He netted his first career hat trick and a career-best four points on October 25, 2008, after a 3-1=4 performance against the Atlanta Thrashers.

During the 2008-09 postseason, the 6’3’’ 228-pound winger had three goals and six assists and a team best +12 plus/minus rating in 10 games.

In his rookie year in 2007-08, Lucic registered 8-19=27 totals and 89 penalty minutes in 77 contests. Lucic earned the team’s “Seventh Player Award” for his efforts, an award voted on by the fans and given to the Bruin who performs above and beyond expectations. He also contributed two goals in seven postseason games.

Lucic has skated in both games during the 2009-10 season and has notched one assist and five penalty minutes.

He was invited to – and participated in – Canada’s National Men’s Team Orientation Camp this past August, in advance of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games and 2010 IIHF World Championship. The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be played in Lucic’s hometown of Vancouver, British Columbia.

Originally drafted by the Bruins in the second round (50th overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, Lucic helped the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League capture the 2007 Memorial Cup Championship.

Update: According to Jay Gold, it is a three year deal worth approximately 4 million per season.

UPDATE II: Matt Kalman of ESPNBoston.com says the deal is a 3 year deal worth $12.25 million. That breaks down to a $4,083,333 cap hit per season.

Lucic absent from practice

Milan Lucic was the only player missing from practice today. According to the Boston Globe, Lucic was seen walking with a “noticable limp” following Saturday’s victory against the Canes. Matt Hunwick took his spot on the first line during drills today.

More details to come later in the day.

UPDATE: Julien stated it was a personal day, and nothing injury related.  Lucic will be ready for Thursday night’s game. Exhale…

Lucic is a beast

The Bruins pulled out another 2-1 victory to run their preseason record to 5-1-1. The last preseason game is Saturday night at 7 P.M on NESN. I wanted to share this photo from the Lucic-Neil fight during the second period.