Bruins' Lucic, Canadiens' Weise take diplomatic approach to first meeting since handshake incident
The handshake line at the end of the Montreal Canadiens' Game 7 victory over the Boston Bruins in the second round of last season's playoffs took an unsportsmanlike turn when Milan Lucic uttered an expletive and reportedly threatened to kill Dale Weise.
With the two teams set to face off for the first time this season Thursday in Montreal, both players minimized the incident, choosing a decidedly more diplomatic approach.
Lucic expressed more concern about making use of his stick than dropping the gloves:
Lucic, on visiting Montreal tonight: "I’ve got zero points, and I’m a minus-1. I’m more worried about winning a game here and producing."
— Nick Cotsonika (@cotsonika) October 16, 2014
Weise, on the other hand, stated, "If (Lucic) were to have shook my hand and been happy about losing, I would have lost respect for him.”
Lucic - without a point through five games - refused to apologize after the Game 7 incident, while Weise, who may not even play Thursday, called the Bruins forward "classless."
Whether Thursday's seeming change of heart from both parties translates into a non-event remains to be seen.