There's a happiness in Milan Lucic's voice that carries through the phone line three time zones.
It's genuine.
Life as a Los Angeles King could absolutely not be any better. On and off the ice, the former
Boston Bruins star is now in a good place.
"Once I settled in, I just loved everything about it," Lucic said Wednesday.
He loves where he and his family live in Manhattan Beach, loves the daily routine, loves his team.
Even the extra travel as a West Coast team doesn't bog him down.
"Obviously the travel is different and the road trips are longer, but the thing I enjoy is that even though we're on the road longer, we're also at home longer, we have longer home stands," Lucic said. "That's nice with the kids, get to spend pretty good quality time with my children."
Lucic says his wife and two daughters, ages 3 years old and 8 months old, have adjusted very well to life in L.A.
Again, the joy in his voice just describing his daughter's preschool comes through candidly.
"She loves her preschool. She does tennis, soccer, drama, hip-hop dancing, baking, she really, really enjoys it," Lucic said with a chuckle.
It's been a long road back for the 27-year-old Vancouver native, who was traded in June from Boston. The death of his father in April -- which Lucic revealed in November in a "Hockey Night In Canada" interview was a suicide -- has obviously left scars.