NHL Notebook: Bruins’ Milan Lucic to be arrainged after allegedly attacking wife after argument; Oilers sit in power rankings basement
By Zach Laing
8 months agoBruins forward Milan Lucic is set to be arraigned in Boston court Tuesday on a charge of assault and battery on a family member, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported Monday.
The 35-year-old was arrested early Saturday morning after Lucic attempted to choke his wife, Brittany, following a verbal argument that turned physical, reported Seravalli.
A copy of the police report, obtained by the Boston Globe, alleged Lucic pulled his wife’s hair and that police “observed redness on the victim’s chest area.” In the report, police wrote, “she stated that she attempted to walk away from her husband and stated that her husband grabbed her by the hair and pulled her backwards,” and “that in doing so, the suspect stated to her that she was not going anywhere.”
In the report, police said Lucic appeared intoxicated when he answered the door stating “nothing happened,” while providing no explanation for the incident. After officers said he was going to be arrested for domestic violence, they took him to his bedroom to get clothing, where they observed a broken lamp on the nightstand and shards of broken glass on the floor.
“Operations relayed to the responding officers that the reporting party/victim called and stated that her husband attempted to choke her,” police wrote, according to the Globe. “The victim stated that her husband could not locate his cellphone after returning to their apartment after a night out. She stated that the suspect began yelling at her, demanding his phone back, believing she had hidden the phone. She stated that she did not have the phone or know where it was.”
Lucic, who signed a one-year deal with the Bruins this offseason and has been on LTIR since Oct. 21 with a lower-body injury, has only appeared in four games with the club this season. The club announced Saturday that Lucic would take an “indefinite leave of absence” from the team after what it described as an “incident.”
According to Seravalli, during an arraignment in Massachusetts, “the defendant is informed of the charges against them, then enters a plea, and the judge may choose whether to set bail.” As noted by Seravalli, the NHL has yet to weigh in on the leave of absence or the pending charges.
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Oilers in power ranking purgatory
The struggles of the 2023-24 Oilers are well known.
Their start to the season has been nothing short of dismal, and it resulted in the club firing head coach Jay Woodcroft, and his assistant, Dave Manson, eight days ago. The Kris Knoblauch era has kicked off with a bang as the Oilers have won two of three games, but there’s still a long way to go to get back into the playoff mix, where so many expected this team to be.
Daily Faceoff has continued their weekly power rankings, and they continue to have the Oilers near the bottom of the league. Here’s Scott Maxwell and Mike Gould’s rankings, as well as the former’s write up on what the Oilers are facing:
29. Edmonton OilersRecord: 5-10-1, -14
Last Week: 29th (+2)
Mike’s Rank: 30th
Scott’s Rank: 29thScott: The Oilers have won two of their first three games in the Kris Knoblauch era, and it goes to show how much of a hole they still have to climb out of when a winning week still has them seven points out of a playoff spot compared to last week when it was… eight points. If anyone can do it, it’s Connor McDavid, but McDavid isn’t even McDavid right now, so they are still in a tough spot to come back.
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.
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