Milan Lucic is entering the first year of a three-year deal with an annual cap hit of $4.008 million. Though just 22 years of age, the physical forward will play the 2010-11 season as the fourth-highest paid member of the Bruins, behind only Zdeno Chara, Tim Thomas, and Patrice Bergeron. As he trains with teammates for what he hopes is a more healthy campaign than his 50-game 2009-10, he hopes to make himself worth every dime of his contract. In particular, he hopes to find the back of the net more.

In three NHL seasons, Lucic’s career high in goals came in the 2008-09 season, one in which he added 25 assists in his 77 games for a career-best 42 points.

“I feel like have the ability to help contribute to this team a little bit more,” Lucic said Tuesday. “I still in my three years haven’t been able to hit the 20-goal mark. I feel like that’s a realistic goal for me this year and that’s a personal goal that I should be able to meet.

“In saying that, I shouldn’t just be thinking that way. If I start thinking ‘goal, goal, goal, goals’ and just getting points, that’s when my play starts to suffer. I think if I’m just moving my feet and playing physical, everything else tends to fall into place. I think going into my fourth year, what I really want to do is try to be the best player on the ice on a more consistent level. I think that’s the challenge for myself and that’s what I’m going to be looking forward to doing this year.”

Lucic added that he hopes to spend more time on the power play. With much being made of the Tyler Seguin-Mark Recchi connection as far as learning the trick of the trade as a young player, Lucic freely admitted that when it comes to making a difference with a man advantage, he’s still taking notes from the veteran.

“There’s a lot to learn from Mark Recchi, who does such a great job in front of the net with tips and just establishing body presence. For a little guy like him, he’s able to establish really good body presence in front of the net. I’ve learned a lot from him and I’m still learning,” Lucic said. “Hopefully I can translate that into this year.”