boston –
Boston Bruins forward Milan Lucic pleaded not guilty Tuesday to assaulting his wife and was released on personal recognizance bail.
According to a Boston police report, Lucic appeared to be intoxicated when officers arrived at their North End apartment early Saturday morning after receiving a report that he had tried to strangle his wife. Brittany Lucic told the officers who responded to her that her husband pulled her hair, but she did not try to strangle her. She declined her offer of treatment.
Milan Lucic, a member of the Bruins’ 2011 Stanley Cup-winning team, has been arrested on charges of assault and battery on a family member, which carries a maximum sentence of two-and-a-half years in prison.
Lucic did not speak at his arraignment Tuesday morning. A not guilty plea was entered on Lucic’s behalf and a pretrial hearing was set for January 19th. As conditions of his bail, Lucic was prohibited from abusing the alleged victim and from drinking alcohol.
The judge granted a motion from Lucic’s lawyer to allow him to attend the next hearing via video call.
Lucic’s representatives did not respond to an email seeking comment over the weekend and did not respond to a text message seeking comment on Monday.
The 6-foot-3, 236-pound Vancouver native hasn’t played since Oct. 21 due to injury. He has two assists in four games this season.
The Bruins announced Saturday that Lucic would be taking an indefinite leave of absence from the team. Coach Jim Montgomery and captain Brad Marchand said they would provide Lucic’s family with the support they need, but declined to comment otherwise on the arrest.
