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Milan Lucic hopes 'Big Bad Bruins' identity remains under new GM

Greg M. Cooper / USA TODAY Sports

Milan Lucic hopes for more of the same under a new general manager.

As the Boston Bruins inch deeper into the postseason without an official GM, and with head coach Claude Julien's fate also undetermined, the prototypical power forward is looking for the club to retain the identity that marked much of its success in recent years.

"It's just trying to keep the culture that’s already been created in the past," Lucic told Joe Haggerty of CSN. "It's that Big Bad Bruins team ... that championship team. I think I speak for everyone when I say that's what we want to see with this team moving forward. That's my take on it."

It's a notion that was seemingly backed by team president Cam Neely upon the announcement that now-Edmonton Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli was being let go. Neely said, "We got away from our identity ... we weren't as tough to play against as we'd like to be."

Whether this bruising style remains conducive to winning is up for debate, and the Bruins did enjoy a certain amount of success this past season when Lucic was featured on a line with speedier skill players like David Pastrnak and Ryan Spooner.

For the time being, Boston's future - and, by extension, the team's identity - hangs in the balance pending a GM hire.

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