ST. LOUIS — Three months after the St. Louis Blues signed Milan Lucic to a professional tryout (PTO), the two sides are parting ways.

After signing a second PTO with the Blues’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Springfield (Mass.) Thunderbirds, the club is terminating that agreement, according to an announcement by general manager Doug Armstrong on Tuesday.

In August, the Blues announced that they’d signed Lucic, 37, to a PTO with the idea of him making the NHL roster. The 6-foot-3, 236-pound forward appeared in four preseason games, posting a goal and an assist, before being sidelined with a lower-body injury.

The setback required weeks of rehab, but the Blues kept him in St. Louis with the plan to sign him to another PTO. When he got healthy, they agreed on a second PTO with their AHL affiliate in early November. But he played just five games with the Thunderbirds, had one assist and was a minus-7.

Milan Lucic has been released from his AHL tryout with the @ThunderbirdsAHL. https://t.co/nsE9LH4qGS #stlblues

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) November 25, 2025

It’s unknown whether Lucic will continue his bid to return to the NHL in the future.

In 17 seasons and 1,177 games with the Boston Bruins, Los Angeles Kings, Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames, Lucic registered 586 points (233 goals, 353 assists) and 1,301 penalty minutes. He has also recorded 77 points (29 goals, 48 assists) in 136 playoff games, winning a Stanley Cup with the Bruins in 2011.

Lucic returned to Boston in 2023-24, when he played for then-Bruins coach and current Blues coach Jim Montgomery, but he logged just four games before taking an indefinite leave of absence.

In November 2023, Lucic entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program after being charged with assault and battery stemming from an alleged domestic dispute with his wife in Boston. The charges against Lucic, who pleaded not guilty, were dropped when his wife declined to testify against him. According to a news release from the Blues announcing the original PTO, the league has since reinstated him.

The Blues currently have 14 healthy forwards, scratching veterans Mathieu Joseph and Nick Bjugstad in Monday’s 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers. They’re currently 29th in the league standings with a record of 7-10-6 (20 points), so the combination of a full roster of forwards, plus the ineffectiveness of Lucic in his time in St. Louis and Springfield, led to the decision.