The purpose for Boston’s paper transactions that were made last night (the recalls of Jakub Zboril and Mason Lohrei) has now been revealed. The Bruins announced that winger Milan Lucic was placed on LTIR, meaning he’ll miss at least 10 games and 24 days. Taking his place on the roster is center Oskar Steen.
Yesterday’s recalls (which have since been reversed) got the Bruins within roughly $82K of the cap ceiling; the gap between that and Lucic’s $1MM cap hit is how much LTIR room they created. That wasn’t enough space for them to bring up two players but it gave them more flexibility in who they could afford to recall.
Lucic is dealing with a lower-body injury that was originally expected to keep him out for a couple of weeks. This timeline is a bit further out but is arguably more beneficial for Boston as it allows them to get Steen onto the roster as a replacement player. The 35-year-old is in his first season back with the Bruins after signing with them in the summer and he was off to a decent start with two assists and eight hits in his first four games before the injury. He’ll be eligible to return on November 18th against Montreal, relays Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic (Twitter link).
As for Steen, the 25-year-old has made 26 appearances at the top level over the past three seasons, notching three goals and four assists along the way. He cleared waivers earlier this month and has averaged a point per game in his first five appearances with AHL Providence this season.
I kind of hope that this isn’t Looch’s last contract, if it ends up being “injury plagued.”
Lucic has been a waste of space for quite awhile.