Not a guy whose production shrivels up when the games gain in importance, in other words. The durable slugger lost more time to the 2012 lockout than to any injury, having missed just 10 games over the past seven seasons combined.īreak his career down to a per-82 basis and an impressive pattern emerges: Add it up and tonight’s game marks the 820th game of his career, exactly 10 seasons worth. His playoff experience is even more impressive, as his 101 Playoff Games Played rank 39th, with only one younger man, Patrick Kane, ahead of him on that roll. He enters tonight’s game with 718 games played, 146th among active skaters, the vast majority of those above him in their 30s. (Other examples of underaged second-rounders who made the jump include Patrice Bergeron, Ryan O’Reilly, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic, but there aren’t many of them.)įrom then until now Lucic has been an everyday NHLer, never playing a minute in the minor leagues. Drafted #50 overall by Boston in 2006 with an Edmonton draft pick acquired in the Sergei Samsonov deal, he starred in the Memorial Cup in his hometown Vancouver the next spring, then made the jump to the NHL at 19 - an extremely rare feat for a second round pick. Lucic is just 28, but a very experienced 28. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The addition of Lucic to fill the gaping hole at 1LW marked a transformative step in the club’s evolution. The announcement came down within minutes of free agency officially opening last July 01 in truth the writing had been on the wall since Lucic had visited the city earlier that week, followed by Chiarelli’s controversial trade of star left wing Taylor Hall for “not sexy” defenceman Adam Larsson on June 29. The Oilers made him an offer he couldn’t refuse: a 7-year, $42 MM, nearly buyout-proof pact to play on an emerging team with the game’s top young star. The very embodiment of the “heavy hockey” espoused by Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli, the 6’3, 233-pound winger came available on the open market last summer when tonight’s opponent, the Los Angeles Kings, couldn’t afford an extension. On the vanguard of those experienced players is Milan Lucic. Activate your Online Access Now Article content If you are a Home delivery print subscriber, unlimited online access is included in your subscription. Manage Print Subscription / Tax Receipt.
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