Most fans don't think of warm feelings when they think about the Bruins/Leafs rivalry over the past fifteen years. The bitter rivals have been involved in a number of highly aggressive matchups, and Milan Lucic was often right at the center of it.
Lucic Rejected Leafs in Free Agency
Milan Lucic spoke to the media recently, where he revealed that he did receive an offer from the Toronto Maple Leafs this offseason, but rejected it. While we're not surprised that a former Bruins would decline to play for Toronto, we're a bit shocked that Brad Treliving thought he would.
Yeah. I talked to Tre a little bit, obviously because I had Tre in Calgary there. So, he expressed some interest, and I was like, "Yeah, it would be tough for me to be a Leafer, just because of the Boston connection." - Milan Lucic
It doesn't sound like Lucic gave Toronto much of a thought, which once again, isn't surprising. Rivlaries such as the one between Toronto and Boston cut deep, and can be incredibly hard to get past.
Toronto's incredibly Plan B was to bring in an arguably worse 'tough guy' in Ryan Reaves. Reaves and Lucic are similar players, but Lucic actually has a history of being able to score, which Reaves does not.
At this point, we have to wonder why Toronto wants a tough guy so bad. Who are they afraid of getting bullied by?