Anze Kopitar

Newly acquired Milan Lucic fits Kings' mold of power forwards

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 2:56 p.m. ET

foxsports

Milan Lucic had just returned from Disneyland when he found out he would be heading right back down south.

The Los Angeles Kings grabbed draft day headlines without even drafting anyone by trading away their 13th overall pick, backup goaltender Martin Jones and defenseman Colin Miller, a 22-year-old prospect, to Boston for left winger Milan Lucic, prior to the first round of the NHL Draft, Friday afternoon in Sunrise, Fla.

Earlier in the week, Lucic had been at Disneyland with his oldest daughter Valentina. Although the timing was a little off, he's sure his daughter won't mind coming back.

"It would have been nice to have gotten the news while I was down there so I could have stayed down there and enjoy the start of being a King," he said. "It's a great place to be and a great place to visit."

With the Kings and Justin Williams, the 2014 Conn Smythe winner, reportedly not close to a deal, the addition of the 27-year-old Lucic gives the Kings a younger replacement who fits in the system, and a potential linemate for first-liners Anze Kopitar and Marian Gaborik.

"This deal, we gave up quite a bit, but I was very clear I would not give up that unless it was not only the player, but a fit," Kings general manager Dean Lombardi said on a conference call. "Is it the loss of the other player? Yeah, but that's not what drives it. This isn't done unless it's that type of player."

The 6-foot-3, 275-pound forward out of Vancouver, B.C., scored 18 goals and tallied 26 assists for the Bruins last season. In eight NHL seasons - all with Boston - he's totaled 139 goals, 203 assists (342 assists) and 772 PIM. He's aggressive and physical, and while not the greatest skater, he uses his physicality and determination to get to the net - an area the Kings shied away from last season.

Capable of throwing big blows and playing grinding it out defensively, he's a prototypical L.A. Kings power forward. So it should come as no surprise that Lombardi had previously asked about him.

"I inquired about it at the end of the year, because obviously Boston was going through a transition," he said. "It's clear Boston had chosen its direction, so to speak. So it really didn't get serious until last night, but there were very informal inquiries, not long after the season ended."

There had been speculation all season about the Bruins moving Lucic. With the team doing a fair amount of resetting after a disappointing season, the speculation had turned into heated rumors in recent weeks. With a cap hit of $6 million next season -- the last on his contract -- the Bruins got a reprieve.

The Kings, however, have made it clear that they don't need to reset. Lombardi has been adamant about keeping together his core group and bringing in players that will add to that. Earlier in the day, he gave that group a vote of confidence, coming to terms with restricted free agent forward Tyler Toffoli.

"The other thing I'd say, that shows this team cares about winning, is what Tyler Toffoli did," Lombardi said. "If Tyler Toffoli doesn't step up and do this, we can't do this this deal. Then we would have exposed ourselves to an offer sheet. It's just exemplary for a young player to realize his time will come and take a good deal, but not try to shoot for the moon. So the team is allowed to go out and make itself better."

The Lucic trade gave the Bruins the 13th, 14th and 15th picks in the draft. It's a new era with a new G.M. in Boston, but in L.A., the goal is simply to get back to business as usual.

"I think that's the most exciting thing about moving on from Boston is moving on to another team that knows how to win," Lucic said. "They're not a team that's learning how to win or trying to take that next step to win a Stanley Cup. They already know how to do that...

"I get to be part of an organization that will contend for another Cup."