Will Milan Lucic, a seasoned winger, remain with the Boston Bruins until his legal problems are resolved?
Since Lucic’s domestic abuse arrest on November 19, the team has not addressed this subject or the sad and troubling predicament he, his family, and the team still find themselves in. To be honest, though, the Boston Bruins haven’t exactly been questioned about it either. The Bruins and Milan Lucic have said nothing as the judicial process proceeds, with the exception of remarks made shortly after Lucic’s arrest to show support for Lucic and his family. In related news, Lucic’s case involving domestic abuse is scheduled for trial on February 16th. This is after his wife, Brittany, refused to withdraw the allegations against her husband. On January 19th, Lucic appeared via Zoom for his pre-trial hearing in Boston Municipal Court.
Lucic is still a member of the Boston Bruins despite being placed on long-term injury reserve and an indefinite leave of absence. It appears that the Bruins are firmly committed to the innocent until proven guilty policy, and they want to stick behind Lucic and his family through the legal process. Given that NHL players have experienced similar suspensions or contract terminations from their teams, the morality of that choice is undoubtedly debatable.
The Bruins could have and still could punish, suspend, or even cancel Lucic’s $1 million, one-year contract under the morality provision of the CBA. A team may choose to end a player’s contract with them if they engage in “conduct detrimental to the best interest of the Club,” according to the “Morality Clause” of the Standard Player Contract (SPC). In order to protect the interests of the Club, the League, or professional hockey in general, each player must “agree to conduct himself on and off the rink according to the highest standards of honesty, morality, fair play, and sportsmanship.”
The Bruins have the option to end Lucic’s contract and avoid having to pay the $416,667 remaining on his cap charge, just like the Los Angeles Kings did when they terminated Mike Richards’ contract in 2015 following his illegal possession of prescription medications at the border. They are actually not subject to his cap hit at the moment because Lucic is still on long-term injury reserve. They are unable to take advantage of the pro-rated cap hits with players whose contracts are about to expire until Lucic is removed from long-term injured reserve, even if they may be gaining cap room while Lucic is on long-term injury reserve. For instance, the Bruins would be responsible for Elias Lindholm’s entire $4.85 million salary charge rather than the current pro-rated $2.02 million if they were to sign the Calgary Flames center, who is a possible 2024 unrestricted free agency.
The Bruins probably won’t fire Lucic under the Morality Clause and will work things out in the offseason unless shocking information that virtually assures a guilty decision appears before the end of the season.