Was Milan Lucic disrespectful in the handshake line?

The NHL’s handshake line is one of the best traditions in sports. It’s a unique, powerful and often very emotional moment as two sides – winner and losers – come together at the end of each series. As we saw when Patrick Kane was mic’d up after beating the Wild, there are often some truly memorable moments in the handshake line.

Unfortunately, for some players its hard to shut off the emotion that had been flowing in a heated series and an intense final game. Such was the case in Game 7 between Montreal and Boston as Milan Lucic was accused of saying some disrespectful comments as he went through the handshake line.

Here’s some video:

Though details haven’t emerged on what was said, Lucic responded to the claims with:

Well, that all but confirms something was said, but it doesn’t answer what was said.

Realistically, it’s kind of surprising things like this don’t happen more often. There is a lot of respect in the NHL, but to go from trying to blister your opponent with each check to saying “good job” and “good luck” in a matter of minutes isn’t going to be easy. That doesn’t excuse Lucic and whatever he may have said, but it is remarkable we don’t hear about these kinds of things more often.

Oh, and this is a stark contrast to Lucic’s “friendly” pat on the junk against the Lightning last season.

About David Rogers

Editor for The Comeback and Contributing Editor for Awful Announcing. Lover of hockey, soccer and all things pop culture.

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