Bigger isn’t better for tough guy Lucic
Rugged Oilers forward knows his bulk, lack of speed hurt his offensive game
If there are lots of mirrors in Milan Lucic’s house, there’s also Plexiglas.
And whenever he’s stared into the looking glass, he hasn’t liked what he’s seen since Christmas.
Lucic last scored a goal back on Dec. 23 on Montreal’s Carey Price.
The Edmonton Oilers winger is the first to point out that was 19 games ago. He has yet to score a goal in 2018.
He’s always been a straight shooter, even if he’s only scored nine times in 102 shots, just an 8.8 percentage, way under his career average of 14.5. He fully admits he’s misplaced his confidence with the puck on his stick — be it shooting, taking a pass, or making one to a teammate.
Lucic’s frustration is evident. Witness the slamming of doors at the bench after a bad shift, or see him slamming his stick. The goals the Oilers so clearly have needed from Lucic as they’ve gone from 17-17-2 on Dec. 23 to 23-28-4 now, and from being six points out of a playoff spot to 16, haven’t been there.
But the elephant in the room is Lucic’s foot speed, or lack of it. In today’s NHL track meet, where every player seems to be 23 and much younger than 29-year-old Lucic, big men have trouble keeping up, not unlike another battle-tested warrior in Chicago’s Brent Seabrook.
Lucic knows he has to get quicker, which entails getting lighter than his current 238 pounds.
Two years into his seven-year, US$42-million contract, he also knows he has to adapt. There’s no more fighting in the NHL; he’s still in the top 10 in hits delivered, but the game’s moving away from cycling along the boards as the puck’s carried into the zone more on the rush. There’s a lot less of what makes Milan Lucic click. All those admirable traits.
So how does Lucic keep up or get faster?
“It’s a tough question to answer. I don’t know what the league’s going to look like four years from now,” he said. “But it’s up to me to get faster and that’s on the off-ice part of it.”
Can his body show up much lighter next year?
“Yeah, it can. I know I have to do that, but I’m a big-boned person. When we were in L.A., we did a test where they’d give you your bone mass. A regular (result) was eight pounds for an athlete and I was 11 pounds,” Lucic said of the scan that measures bone density.
“That’s my natural build. I’ve changed my diet. I can change my shape. I worked hard on it this summer and felt my legs were going at camp and the start of the season.
“I have to get down to 225. It’s a matter of will and want.”
The game’s changed, though, away from Lucic’s blue-collar, tough guy brand.
“I look back at 2006 and I remember Jason Smith and Matt Greene and (Chris) Pronger here, where there was lots of banging, and now it’s stick-on-puck (checking). You have to find a way to adjust,” he said. “I’ve always been able to produce and be good in the O -zone, making good plays. I have to be more on my toes and anticipating, but that’s confidence.”
His confidence has evaporated these last two months.
“It’s been frustrating since the Christmas break, because I thought I got it going after American Thanksgiving in the month of December,” said Lucic. “It’s gone a 180 (degree turn) on me.
“Nineteen games since the Christmas break (with no goals in 34 shots). I’ve had chances to tie games, to put our team up by a goal … it’s deflating to look back.
“The Winnipeg game right after the break, I had three chances six-on-five, hit the goalie twice and missed the net. The L.A. game (last week), I had two posts. The San Jose game last week, I can’t remember the last time I had five shots on net and didn’t score with my career shooting percentage,” he said.
“In a team sport like hockey, teams can overcome your mistakes, but when you’re making them and the team’s losing, it piles all up into one big ball of stress and the frustration builds.
“As a leader, you try not to let that body language get to you because you know the trickling effect, but sometimes you have to show some emotion.”
The fewest goals Lucic has scored in the last eight years is seven, and that was the lockout season in 2012-13. He’s had five seasons of 20-plus goals.
“It’s easy to point fingers, but you critique yourself first and move on. I’ve always been my toughest critic,” he said. “I could have been a factor the last 19 games.
“At times, there’s a sense of doubt, but it’s not the first time I’ve been through it. In the past when I’ve come out if it, I’ve been stronger for it. I need to overcome this.”
When you’re making (mistakes) and the team’s losing, it piles all up into one big ball of stress ...