The End Of Lucic

This isn't normally how hockey players are dressed midweek, but Boston Bruins forward Milan Lucic was in his best suit today as he stood before a judge at the Central Division of Boston Municipal Court for his arraignment on the charge of assault and battery on a household member. As you may have heard, Lucic was involved in a domestic violence incident over the weekend after he assaulted his wife, Brittany, following a night out where it appears he had been drinking. Lucic entered a plea of not-guilty today before the judge who released Lucic under his own personal recognizance with a no-abuse order and a requirement that he refrain from consuming any alcohol while this case is pending. Lucic's silence in the courtroom will likely echo the silence he'll hear from NHL clubs once this case is tried, and this issue should be the death knell on the 35 year-old Lucic's professional hockey career.

I fully admit that everyone shall remain innocent until proven guilty, but based on what has been reported from the courtroom proceedings today it seems like Milan Lucic is on the wrong side of the law in this case. I'm clearly not on the jury nor am I sitting in the courtroom, but the details written by Kevin Paul Dupont in the Boston Globe today don't cast a positive light on Milan Lucic in any way. As much as one hopes that Milan and Brittany can find peace in their marriage following this, it seems as though the law will force Milan to accept responsibility for what he did.

Perhaps the good news that came out of today's arraignment is that Lucic has enrolled in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program. If this is to assist him with an alcohol-related issue, that's good. As you'll see, police reports seem to indicate that Lucic was inebriated when they arrived at the family's condominium, so getting help is a good start despite it likely being far too late to save his NHL career.

Again, I wasn't sitting in the courtroom today, so what follows is how everything unfolded as per Kevin Paul Dupont. I want to make it clear that what you read may be disturbing as there are descriptions of domestic violence as told by Dupont. Anything I add is based off his reporting. Are we clear? Good. Let's discuss.

Dupont reported today,

"What we can ascertain, per portions of the police report that were read into the record at Lucic's court hearing Tuesday, is that he and his wife got into an argument around 1 a.m., after he returned home from a night out. During the argument, Lucic allegedly yanked his wife's hair and threatened to choke her, his ire initially sparked by his inability to locate his phone and belief that she was hiding it."

Clearly, that's not good at all, and him putting his hands on her followed by threatening her is a major problem. However, the reading of the police report continued. Dupont reported,

"'You're not going anywhere,' Lucic allegedly told his wife as she attempted to walk away from their argument. That is when he grabbed her by the hair, according to the report."

Something tells me that Milan Lucic might be in big trouble based on that piece of the report. However, there was still more revealed as Dupont reported,

"Per the report, Lucic appeared to be inebriated when police entered the condo. There was a broken lamp aside a nightstand. Brittany, per the report, had a red mark on her chest."

It's a widely-known fact that committing a crime while intoxicated doesn't excuse one from the full lengths of the law. With Milan Lucic being drunk and aggressively putting his hands on his wife, his future will be decided by his wife's testimony, the police officers who testify, and the police report since it appears that Lucic wasn't of clear mind when the police showed up to make sense of what was happening. And as it stands, the report alone is pretty damning.

With Lucic on a team-friendly, one-year deal for $1 million, it would be easy to bury his contract in the minors and let it expire. Of course, with him being in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program, everything is on hold when it comes to player movement. Perhaps the best move to undertake would be to place him on waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract under the "conduct unbecoming" clause written into his contract. Similar to how Mitchell Miller was waived, I doubt that Boston wants the negative press following them along with opposing fans using Lucic's arrest for his crime as something they can use to disrupt the players.

Lucic will have his day in court where he will be able to defend his actions based on his not-guilty plea. He'll be able to work on his behaviours under the guidance of the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program where he can take corrective measures to prevent something like this from happening ever again. Perhaps his wife, Brittany, will drop the charges against Milan and refuse to testify to let him off the hook easy rather than standing in front of a jury. What shouldn't happen, though, is Lucic getting a free pass in the NHL for the actions he committed this past weekend.

With the Bruins being the only team that showed interest in Lucic's services this summer, that opportunity should be ended for the good of all the parties involved. Actions have consequences, and the Bruins can't just sweep this one under the rug when it comes to doing the right, even if it isn't popular.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!