Lucic Pays, Apologizes for Lewd Gesture in Montreal

Oft-maligned Boston Bruins forward Milan Lucic has been fined for obscene gestures made to the crowd at the Bell Center in a game against the Montreal Canadians last week.

The NHL handed down the $5,000 fine after Lucic had been sent to the penalty box after applying a hit to Canadiens defenseman Alexei Emelin. The hit itself could be considered dirty with the potential to seriously injure Emelin, which may be the real reason behind the hefty fine as the gesture itself didn’t seem overtly controversial.

At the time of the penalty, Boston was trailing Montreal 5-4 with a little over a minute left to play in regulation. The Montreal power-play resulted in a goal by Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau to ice the win 6-4 and send Lucic into a frenzy. After leaving the penalty box, Lucic yelled at the referee and was thrown out of the game for confronting an official.

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Lucic has since apologized for the incident, as has the Bruins head coach Claude Julien. Lucic expressed that he is not proud of his actions and apologized specifically for letting the Canadiens fans get under his skin.

Julien has acknowledged that the left winger’s temper can be often be a problem, implying that it’s somewhat difficult to keep Lucic’s emotions corralled at times.

Lucic has a melodramatic streak with bad behavior on the ice. In the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Lucic was fined for spearing Danny DeKeyser and went on to threaten the life of Montreal’s Dale Weiseduring the handshake line after the Canadiens ended the Bruins season.

Crass gestures aren’t a new phenomenon in the NHL. Former Canadiens James Wisniewski received a two game suspension in 2010 as a New York Islander after simulating a similar gesture towards New York Ranger Sean Avery. The money from Lucic’s fine will be paid to the NHL Player’s Emergency Fund.