Bruins’ Milan Lucic charged with assault and battery

Boston Herald captures Boston Bruins left wing Milan Lucic receiving an introduction from the Bruins’ game against the Blackhawks at TD Garden on Wednesday. (Staff Photo/Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald)

Bruins’ left wing Milan Lucic anticipates arraignment in Boston Municipal Court earlier this week for an assault charge, per the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office.

Lucic, aged 35, faces a charge of assault and battery on a family or household member following an altercation on Friday. The arraignment will take place on either Monday or Tuesday, officials informed the Herald.

The Bruins confirmed on Saturday that the forward will be taking “an indefinite leave of absence,” offering their support in a statement.

Details surrounding the incident over the weekend were not disclosed.

Boston Police Department officials declined to confirm or deny whether an arrest was made.

Records officer for the Boston Police Department, responsible for handling the incident, was unavailable over the weekend, meaning details could go public at the earliest by Monday.

Lucic had been with the Bruins for eight years before being traded to Los Angeles, marking the start of an eight-year absence from the team. He recently re-signed with the Bruins this year.

Bruins’ captain Brad Marchand addressed the occasion of his teammate’s arrest.

“We’re obviously aware of what happened (Friday) night with Looch. The biggest thing for us is we care a lot about their family. We’re a family in here,” said Marchand. “We’re all very close. We’re also very concerned for them and what they’re going through. But we have a lot of support for Brittany (Lucic’s wife) and the kids and for Looch himself.”

Coach Jim Montgomery echoed the team’s statement and addressed questions about how the team will be moving on from this incident.

“It’s a really good question, because our culture here is great and we care about each other,” Montgomery said. “So with that, it’s not a normal day.”

“With things like this, we’re all people,” Marchand said. “They obviously have an effect on you. But the biggest thing we can do is come in and do our job. We have to come in and just focus on the game.”

Lucic was embroiled in domestic violence allegations in 2011 during his first stint with the Bruins. Police questioned him for a public altercation with his girlfriend outside a Starbucks in the North End, around 1:30 am.

A police report at the time described Lucic as “highly intoxicated and hostile,” according to previous Herald reporting. Meanwhile, his girlfriend, who was found lying on the ground, remained “adamantly unharmed,” according to the report.

Lucic brushed off the incident by saying that “something” was made out of “nothing” and highlighted the challenges of being involved in such situations during an interview with a Herald columnist after the incident.

He added, “You definitely need to be careful where you are and of your surroundings,” advising that he would “put myself in the best situation everywhere I go so I don’t wind up in the same incident that happened.”

Stay tuned for further updates. Additional reporting was contributed by Herald reporters Steve Conroy, Flint McColgan, and Sports Editor Bruce Castleberry.