Milan Lucic is more than willing to drop the mitts the next time his Calgary Flames face the Edmonton Oilers, but he says the game has changed, making it more difficult to impose his physical edge.
“I don’t know what people expect. It’s not the '80s anymore," said the 6-foot-4 grinder, according to Sportsnet's Eric Francis. "You can’t just go around jumping people. If you notice, it’s pretty quiet out there when I’m on the ice. Even when I try to mix it up things cool off pretty quick. I wish I was on the ice when that stuff happened.”
The Flames acquired Lucic from the Oilers in July for forward James Neal. General manager Brad Treliving felt the team was lacking a physical element after its first-round playoff loss to the Colorado Avalanche last spring.
Lucic believes his former teammates in Edmonton are keeping their distance from him to avoid letting the 31-year-old get more engaged in the game.
"It’s old teammates too," he said. "I know when you’re on the ice the only friends are those wearing the same jersey, but those guys know me too. They know I play better when I’m riled up. The scoring report on me is... don’t poke the bear. You can’t measure it just based on fights.”
Flames captain Mark Giordano defended his teammate, saying Lucic "didn't fight because no one wants to fight him."
The provincial rivals don't meet again until the final day of the regular season.
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