The Edmonton Oilers have been a little quiet this offseason with free agency underway, and while they did land Andrew Mangiapane on a fair two-year deal worth $3.6 million annually, they haven’t done much else in terms of filling out their roster. One signing they did make to help bolster their forward depth was bringing in Curtis Lazar on a one-year deal at league minimum, and while his analytics don’t look great, he is a low-risk, high-reward forward who could be a strong addition to the Oilers’ bottom six.
Curtis Lazar has signed with the Edmonton Oilers to a one-year, $775K deal. Lazar was very good defensive bottom-six forward until 2023-24. Had a down year last season. I like this pick up for Edmonton. pic.twitter.com/6sxdg41gnP
— Rono (@RonoAnalyst) July 2, 2025
He doesn’t bring much offensive production to the lineup, but his defensive-minded style of play has helped every team he has played with previously. He previously played for the Edmonton Oil Kings in the Western Hockey League (WHL), where he helped lead them to some serious success as he won two WHL championships and a CHL Memorial Cup.
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Lazar, who is 30 years old, was drafted in the first round of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft at 17th overall by the Ottawa Senators after a strong showing in the 2012-12 season with the Oil Kings, where he scored 38 goals and added 23 assists for 61 points through 72 games. He returned to the Oil Kings the following season, where he scored 41 goals and added 35 assists for 76 points through 58 games.
His offensive dominance didn’t carry over to the NHL, but his defensive mindset did, and he was able to solidify himself as a bottom-six forward who could be trusted to play in clutch situations. The Oilers lost Connor Brown to the New Jersey Devils this offseason, as he signed with them on a four-year deal, so they needed to find a cost-effective replacement for their penalty kill, and they seem to have done exactly that.
Lazar Still Has to Fight for Spot Next Season
Lazar is coming off a major injury, but he seems ready to go for next season as he tries to get back into the NHL. However, the Oilers’ forward depth is strong, so he doesn’t have the easiest path to getting a guaranteed spot in the lineup on opening night next season.
David Tomasek, Matthew Savoie, and Noah Philp will all be fighting to make the team next season as well, and Lazar will likely have to beat one of them out to earn a spot out of training camp. Either way, adding another solid forward who can be a trusted addition to the lineup if the Oilers run into injury troubles is a smart move from their management team. They don’t have too much cap flexibility to spend big anymore this offseason unless they can pull off a surprising trade, so signing players who are willing to play for cheap is the right way to go.
Time will tell if Lazar ends up earning a spot out of camp. He may be better off starting in the American Hockey League (AHL) to get his legs back under him as he continues to recover from an injury, but there is no doubt in my mind he will play some games with the Oilers this season and will be able to provide positive value.
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