Oilers sign forward Curtis Lazar to one-year, $775,000 contract

Lazar, 30, is well known in the market for his time with the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings, with whom he won a league championship in 2011-12 and 2013-14, helping bring the Memorial Cup to Edmonton for the first time.

Drafted by the Ottawa Senators 17th overall in the 2013 draft, Lazar never lived up to the expectations of being such a high draft pick, but he’s put together a strong career over the last decade, playing 572 NHL games Senators, Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins, Vancouver Canucks and most recently, the New Jersey Devils. He’s scored 47 goals and 125 points over his career, racking up two goals and five points in 48 games last year with the Devils, winning 51.3 percent of the faceoffs he took.

Lazar profiles as a solid depth winger, according to Hockey Viz, who have his contributions over each of the last two seasons as a high-end third-line player. Last season, he drove offence at a five percent rate below league average and defence at a one percent rate below league average. His biggest contributions came in his ability to draw penalties without taking them, as well as his penalty kill play, where he drove play at a two percent rate above league average.

His underlying numbers last season weren’t particularly strong, with the Devils controlling 42.5 percent of the shot attempt share, 41.7 percent of the scoring chance share, 46.6 percent of the high-danger scoring chance share and 40.6 percent of the expected goal share. And while the Devils were outscored 16-8 with him on the ice, the issue with his poor numbers weren’t from the defensive play, but rather offensive struggles.

While the Oilers do need offence from their bottom-six, they also need a group there that can help keep the puck out of their own net, and that’s something Lazar has excelled at for a number of years now.

On top of that, he’ll help fill the void of Connor Brown, who signed with the Devils, on the penalty kill.