Milan Lucic, 38, who spent eight seasons with the Boston Bruins and drew ire from the Buffalo Sabres in past incidents, was hired by Buffalo as a pro scout after retiring from a 17-year NHL career.
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Milan Lucic used to wear the Bruins sweater like a challenge to the Sabres. Now, with his 17-year NHL career ending just weeks earlier, the 38-year-old is walking into a different role in the same division’s spotlight.
Buffalo announced Tuesday that Lucic has been hired as a pro scout, part of a wave of front-office additions and promotions. The move closes a chapter that began long before Lucic ever sat in a Buffalo organizational meeting.
Lucic’s first eight NHL seasons were spent with Boston, where he won a Stanley Cup in 2011. During his time there, he became the kind of opponent that animates rivals. In November 2011, he was particularly vilified for bowling over Sabres goalie Ryan Miller during a game in Boston.
Miller missed several weeks with a neck injury after that incident. Following the game, he called Lucic “gutless,” saying he had hit a player 50 pounds lighter. Sabres players were also criticized for not stepping in to defend their star goalie.
More recently, Lucic’s public life outside hockey has been turbulent. In the fall of 2023. he was charged with suspicion of assault and battery on a family member while he was under contract with the Bruins. He took a leave of absence. and the team said he would remain on it after prosecutors dropped the charge in early 2024 when his wife invoked marital privilege.
Last season, Lucic attempted to return to the sport. He agreed to a professional tryout with the American Hockey League’s Springfield Thunderbirds. That tryout was terminated in November, and Lucic ultimately retired.
The Sabres framed the Lucic hire as part of broader organizational changes under first-year general manager Jarmo Kekalainen. Buffalo announced that pro scout Stacy Roest was promoted to director of player personnel and GM of the Sabres minor league affiliate in Rochester.
The team also elevated development staff. Sabres development coach and former player Tim Kennedy was promoted to director of player development, and he will be joined by Derek Dorsett, who was hired as a forward development coach.
For their European pipeline, Buffalo announced that former NHL player Jarkko Ruutu takes over as the team’s European development coach, and that he rejoins Kekalainen after the two previously worked together in Columbus.
Rounding out the additions, Neil Komadoski was hired as assistant director of pro scouting after 16 seasons in a scouting role for the Vancouver Canucks.
Lucic’s arrival in Buffalo’s organization captures the odd churn of pro sports—how quickly yesterday’s villain can become tomorrow’s evaluator. For Sabres fans who still remember Miller’s injuries and Lucic’s Boston tenure, that shift may feel jarring. For Kekalainen and his staff. it’s a familiar gamble: bring in a high-profile hockey figure with deep experience and let him help shape what comes next.
Milan Lucic Buffalo Sabres pro scout Jarmo Kekalainen Stacy Roest Tim Kennedy Derek Dorsett Jarkko Ruutu Neil Komadoski Ryan Miller Boston Bruins Stanley Cup 2011