Stanley Cup champion Milan Lucic retires after 17 NHL seasons

After 17 seasons in the NHL, Milan Lucic called time on his professional career, announcing his retirement on Sunday, his 38th birthday. The Stanley Cup champion forward exits the league after 1,177 regular-season games, finishing with 586 points, including 233 goals and 353 assists.

Lucic was selected by the Boston Bruins in the second round (50th overall) of the 2006 NHL Draft after playing in the WHL with the Vancouver Giants. He made Boston’s roster as a 19-year-old for the 2007-08 season, recording 27 points (8 goals, 19 assists) in 77 games, along with 179 hits and 89 penalty minutes. In his second NHL season, he produced 17 goals and 42 points in 72 games while adding 259 hits and 136 penalty minutes.

His most productive campaign came in 2010-11, when he finished with 30 goals and 62 points in 79 regular-season games. In the playoffs that year, he contributed 12 points in 25 games as the Bruins won the Stanley Cup, defeating the Vancouver Canucks in the Final to win the franchise’s first championship since 1972.

Lucic also put in the hard yards during the 2012-13 playoffs, collecting 19 points in 22 games as Boston reached the Stanley Cup Final before losing to the Chicago Blackhawks.

After his time with the Bruins from 2007 to 2015, Lucic was traded to the Los Angeles Kings on June 26, 2015. He then signed a seven-year contract with the Edmonton Oilers on July 1, 2016, where he debuted with 23 goals and 50 points, along with 202 hits. His production declined in later seasons, dropping to 34 points in 2017-18 and 20 points in 2018-19, including a stretch without a goal over more than 40 games.

In July 2019, Lucic was traded to the Calgary Flames in exchange for James Neal and a conditional third-round pick. He remained with Calgary through the end of his contract, later returning to Boston in 2023 on a one-year, $1 million deal, appearing in four NHL games.

Lucic last played in the NHL during the 2023-24 season and missed most of that year and the 2024-25 season. He later attempted a comeback in 2025-26, signing a professional tryout with the St. Louis Blues in August 2025 and joining their AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds, where he managed one assist in five games before the PTO was terminated. He also played overseas with the Fife Flyers in the EIHL, putting up 12 points (5 goals, 7 assists) in 26 games with 18 penalty minutes and a minus-14 rating.

Internationally, Lucic was part of Canada’s gold-medal team at the 2023 IIHF Men’s World Championship, serving as an alternate captain.

Lucic retires with 29 goals and 48 assists for 77 points in 136 postseason games, concluding a career that included both a Stanley Cup championship and 1,177 NHL appearances.

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