Curtis Lazar is heading back to Edmonton.
The 30-year-old forward signed a one-year, $775k contract with the Oilers. Lazar should provide Edmonton with reliable fourth-line forward minutes as he has an excellent defensive track record.
Lazar has made numerous stops over his 11-year NHL career with the Ottawa Senators, the Calgary Flames, the Buffalo Sabres, the Boston Bruins, the New Jersey Devils, and a brief, 45-game stint with the Vancouver Canucks.
He only has 47 goals and 125 points over 572 games, but it is his forechecking, defensive prowess, and sturdy, 6-foot, 200-pound frame that Edmonton covets.
Lazar is also no stranger to the city, as he played for the Edmonton Oil Kings during his WHL days (2011-14).
While this is an under-the-radar move, Lazar is exactly what the Oilers needed. Their depth forwards were excellent during the Western Conference Playoffs, but they looked overmatched against the Florida Panthers’ fierce bottom-six during the Stanley Cup Final yet again.
Lazar is also a right-handed shot with a 48.1% career mark in the faceoff dot. That should prove particularly valuable in Edmonton’s defensive zone.
Playing Lazar alongside wingers like Trent Frederic, Mattias Janmark, and/or Kasperi Kapanen should also ease some of the pressure off the top dogs like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
Lazar is also not afraid to battle in the dirty areas and lay the body, as he carries a career 82-game average of 181 hits. That physicality should help this Oilers team, which has played a lot of hockey over the last two seasons.
