Former Bruins winger Milan Lucic is officially back in pro hockey

An NHL comeback attempt by former Bruins winger Milan Lucic took its latest and perhaps most significant step Tuesday, with the 37-year-old Lucic officially signed to a pro tryout by AHL Springfield.

The Thunderbirds first announced the move in an X post on Tuesday morning, and with the move confirmed by TheAHL.com.

Lucic's move to Springfield comes after a preseason tryout run with the Blues that ended with a lower-body injury. Prior to the injury, Lucic was making what was a significant push for a spot on Jim Montgomery's squad, with one goal, two points, and 15 hits in four preseason games for the Blues.

Speaking at the start of the season, Blues GM Doug Armstrong indicated that Lucic would remain with the club and rehab the injury, and then potentially rejoin the club on a PTO and see if they could come to terms on an agreement.

But with Lucic unable to play in NHL games while on a PTO in the NHL, the move to send Lucic down to the Blues' AHL affiliate on a tryout will allow the veteran to play in real games in the second-best league in North America.

From there, the Blues will be able to make their call on Lucic's health and potential to help the Blues down the stretch.

Lucic sat on the sidelines without an NHL contract for all of the 2024-25 season, and made just four appearances for Boston in October 2023 before an injury and subsequent off-ice issues ended his season.

While out of action and recovering from a foot injury sustained in an Oct. 21 win over the Kings, Lucic was arrested following a domestic dispute with his wife in November, where a reportedly intoxicated Lucic tried to choke his wife and grabbed her by the hair. Following the arrest, Lucic took an indefinite leave of absence from the club, and while the charges were dropped in February 2024 following his wife's decision not to testify, the Bruins opted not to try to bring Lucic back, and allowed him to continue his "personal rehabilitation."

Prior to bringing him on that aforementioned training camp tryout, the Blues confirmed that Lucic had completed the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program and had been reinstated by the NHL.

The first chance for Lucic to get on the ice with the Thunderbirds will be this Friday night when they host the Bridgeport Islanders. It will be the first game of a weekend home-and-home between Springfield and Bridgeport, with the Thunderbirds traveling to Bridgeport the next night.

If he gets into game action for Springfield, this will actually be the first time that Lucic has played in the AHL in his pro career, as he went straight from Canadian juniors to the NHL with the Bruins in 2007.