The Blues have released left-winger Milan Lucic from his professional tryout, according to a team announcement. He’ll nonetheless remain in the organization for now and will report to the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds, also in a tryout capacity.
Lucic, 37, landed a PTO with St. Louis all the way back in August and showed up for his first NHL training camp in two years. He skated in four preseason games for the Blues, recording a goal and an assist. He then sustained a lower-body injury that shut him down late in camp, removing any hope he had of converting his PTO into an opening night roster spot.
The Blues quietly kept extending Lucic’s PTO in 10-day increments – a new vehicle in the recent CBA extension – while he rehabbed his injury. Evidently, he’s now healthy. Even with the team’s 4-7-2 start to the season, though, they didn’t see enough out of him to warrant giving the 17-year veteran a look on the fourth line, at least not yet. Releasing him from his tryout does nothing to preclude the club from giving him a contract later if they like what they see during his return to action in Springfield.
If Lucic suits up for the Thunderbirds, it will be the first AHL action of his career. He made the transition straight from the WHL to the Bruins’ roster when he first broke into the NHL in 2007 as a 19-year-old. It will also be his first action of any kind in over two years. Lucic’s last appearance came for Boston on Oct. 21, 2023, his fourth of the young season. He then sustained an ankle injury and missed the rest of the season after entering the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program following an alleged domestic incident, although those charges were dropped.