Lucic’s key to longevity? ‘Don’t lose that little kid inside of you’
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Oct 21, 2022 • October 21, 2022 • 4 minute read • Join the conversation 
Forward Milan Lucic warms up for his 1,100th NHL regular-season game, before the Calgary Flames played the Buffalo Sabres at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022. Photo by Jim Wells/Postmedia Article content
Sometimes, it’s the simplest of advice that really sticks.
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Several seasons on, and with another career milestone now in his rearview mirror, Milan Lucic will never forget these wise words.
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“I remember Dean Lombardi said to me when I was playing in L.A., ‘Don’t lose that little kid inside of you,’” Lucic reminisced, referring to the former general manager of the Kings. “That’s something that I’ve always lived by ever since he said it to me, and that’s what I still try to do.”
Lucic is capable of a brand of big-boy hockey that few can match. Earlier this week against the Vegas Golden Knights, the Flames’ fourth-line load shoved off Alec Martinez almost like he was brushing aside a younger sibling, all while using his other arm for a one-handed dish to one of his buddies at the offensive blue-line.
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That little kid inside, however, could be the key to longevity for a guy who has found a way to remain valuable in a reduced role.
If you’re counting campaigns, this is sweet sixteen for Lucic at the highest level. If you prefer games played as the measure, Thursday’s 6-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres marked 1,100. Across the NHL, only 14 active skaters have logged more regular-season appearances.
“Obviously it’s something that I’ve always wanted to do from what I remember as a kid and still it is the only thing I want to do,” said Lucic, now 34. “I think that’s why I am grateful to be in this position and be playing in the NHL in a regular role. Fortunately, I’ve been able to stay healthy for most of my career. I haven’t missed a lot of games. And coming to the rink every day with a great group of guys, it makes it a lot of fun, and that’s something that I wanted to work on this summer is just kind of the mental approach of it, being grateful, being humble and look forward to it and being happy.
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“When you sit back and look at it all and put it in perspective, you are lucky to live the life we do and get to live the dream that we do. This is your reality on a day-to-day basis and it is awesome, so I just want to keep doing it as long as I can and keep making it a positive thing in my life.”
And, of course, to be a positive impact for the Flames, whether that’s in swinging momentum or mentoring teammates.
The volume at the Saddledome is cranked up whenever Lucic has one of those shifts where he seems determined to hit everything in sight. It’s only louder when somebody lights the lamp or when Chris Sutter busts a move.
“I think Looch is skating as good as I’ve ever seen him skate,” said Brett Ritchie, one of his sidekicks on the Flames’ fourth unit. “He’s excited. He’s hungry. Like a lot of us, we want to prove to the rest of the league that we’re a team that can go farther than we did last year.
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“Obviously, throughout his career, he’s been a monster. He’s playing like a monster right now.”
Gone are his days as a first-line force and a power-play mainstay, like he was when he hoisted the Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins in 2011. While some struggle with that fade from star status, Lucic deserves credit for finding a fit further down the depth chart.
He has led the team in hits in each of his three campaigns in Cowtown, and a sideways glance and a sneer from No. 17 is often enough to disperse the would-be tough guys from a scrum.
He is a respected voice in the locker-room, with Darryl Sutter often referencing his leadership.
In the home-opener, he made a terrific pass to Ritchie to set up Calgary’s first snipe of the new season.
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“Just play my game and do whatever I can to help the team,” stressed Lucic, now averaging about 10 minutes per night. “If I play for goals and assists, it’s usually when things don’t go the way that I want and I get frustrated and all that type of stuff. The mentality for the last little bit, maybe since I’ve been in Calgary and kind of revived myself, was playing to win and everything else takes care of itself. That’s the same type of thing individually that I need to do and bring every day is playing to win and setting that tone and then guys usually tend to follow. That is kind of where I’m at.”
As insightful away from the ice as he can be intimidating on it, Lucic was chatting with reporters last week about the evolution of Stanley Cup rings.
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As he put it, “they just keep getting bigger and bigger.”
In Boston, he remembers the legendary Johnny Bucyk would wear his championship bling every day. “Now, they’re becoming more trophies than they are rings.”
That doesn’t mean he doesn’t want another one. That is a big part of what drives him … that, and the little kid inside.
Lucic and his wife Brittany have three children of their own. Valentina, Nikolina and Milan Jr. are often spotted around the rink.
“To win it, that’s what you play every year for. It’s one of those things, once you feel it, as time goes on, you want it more because you want to relive that feeling,” Lucic said. “You see that I try to bring my kids out as much as I can to be a part of it all. When I won, I had just turned 23 in June so I won it as a young kid. I wasn’t married, didn’t have a family, all that type of stuff. So that’s another big part of my motivation is to share that moment and have that moment with them. That’s something I use, as well.”
wgilbertson@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/WesGilbertson
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