Curtis Lazar Signs Two Year Extension with Sabres

[nfreeman]

Lazar reminds me of Adam Mair with more upside and less fighting.  Not a high ceiling, but fast, good size, decent hockey IQ and great enthusiasm.

[GASabresIUFAN]

KA two for two so far.  I thought Lazar would get 1.8 for a two year deal, but 800k for a solid utility forward is perfect.  Don't be surprised if he ends up our 4LW or 4C to start the season.

Edited September 25, 2020 by GASabresIUFAN

[Sabre1974]

Happy with this one and more than earned a spot on 4th line next season

[LGR4GM]

7 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

KA two for two so far.  I thought Lazar would get 1.8 for a two year deal, but 800k for a solid utility forward is perfect.  Don't be surprised if he ends up our 4LW or 4C to start the season.

Shoots right. 

13th forward or 4c if Larsson moves on (although I think he is 4c regardless as Larssons should be 3c). Good price, Adams thus far hasn't done anything ill advised. 

[Sabres Fan in NS]

I like this signing.  He is a good character guy and has good 4th line skills.  The kind of guy every *good* team wants and needs.

Now can we focus Kevy on some really good 2nd line players.  Thanks.

[Weave]

Hustles, hits, forechecks well, good for a few timely goals, skates very well, not well suited to move up the lineup though.  He's essentially a more talented version of Matt Ellis.  Which isn't a bad thing.  He fits the cheap 4th liner role.  I think he has a bigger toolbox than Ellis had, but in today's NHL it isn't as effective as it would have been 10-12 yrs ago.

I think his skating and skill level will fit what Kreuger wants to do better than Larsson's skill set will.  But he doesn't have Larsson's pest-iness, which we don't have enough of already.  Hopefully we bring that back into the lineup in another deal this offseason, preferably with a top 6 player instead.

[JohnC]

23 minutes ago, Weave said:

Hustles, hits, forechecks well, good for a few timely goals, skates very well, not well suited to move up the lineup though.  He's essentially a more talented version of Matt Ellis.  Which isn't a bad thing.  He fits the cheap 4th liner role.  I think he has a bigger toolbox than Ellis had, but in today's NHL it isn't as effective as it would have been 10-12 yrs ago.

I think his skating and skill level will fit what Kreuger wants to do better than Larsson's skill set will.  But he doesn't have Larsson's pest-iness, which we don't have enough of already.  Hopefully we bring that back into the lineup in another deal this offseason, preferably with a top 6 player instead.

Lazar is a player who was drafted in the first round and never met the expectations associated with his first round status. After some set backs and bouncing around he found his niche/role and embraced it. When he was sent to the AHL he was a full effort player there who earned his way back up to the NHL. If players with more skill such as Nylander and Mittelstadt had the same passion and drive that Lazar has they would be established NHLers. Passion and effort are talents. You can't win with only grinders on your team but you need them in the mix to have a well rounded roster.  

[Weave]

2 minutes ago, JohnC said:

Lazar is a player who was drafted in the first round and never met the expectations associated with his first round status. After some set backs and bouncing around he found his niche/role and embraced it. When he was sent to the AHL he was a full effort player there who earned his way back up to the NHL. If players with more skill such as Nylander and Mittelstadt had the same passion and drive that Lazar has they would be established NHLers. Passion and effort are talents. You can't win with only grinders on your team but you need them in the mix to have a well rounded roster.  

At 17 overall if they expected more than they got out of him their expectations were out of whack.  That far into the first round the trend is for guys that make it to be role players. and even at that the success rate is below 50%.

Draft picks are overvalued in general.

[JohnC]

1 minute ago, Weave said:

At 17 overall if they expected more than they got out of him their expectations were out of whack.  That far into the first round the trend is for guys that make it to be role players. and even at that the success rate is below 50%.

Draft picks are overvalued in general.

I think that Ottawa had higher expectations on him. But whether that is the case or not they made a mistake by rushing him. The Sabres made the same developmental mistake with Mitts, Nylander and to a lesser extent with Tage. Some teams have a knack of having a higher hit rate on their picks. Tampa is a good example of that. 

[LTS]

really like this deal.  A guy who wants to be here, has value in his FO% and his effort on the ice signed for the right amount.

Let's be honest.. I'd take $800k a year to play hockey.  🙂

[dudacek]

1 minute ago, JohnC said:

I think that Ottawa had higher expectations on him. But whether that is the case or not they made a mistake by rushing him. The Sabres made the same developmental mistake with Mitts, Nylander and to a lesser extent with Tage. Some teams have a knack of having a higher hit rate on their picks. Tampa is a good example of that. 

I really liked Lazar as a junior. His scouting report looked a lot like Anton Lundell's.

[JohnC]

2 minutes ago, dudacek said:

I really liked Lazar as a junior. His scouting report looked a lot like Anton Lundell's.

Do you believe that Lazar has an upside as a third liner who can give you 12-15 goals? Or is that scoring expectation too high of an expectation? If this team can get some reasonable secondary scoring it will be beneficial. 

[dudacek]

3 minutes ago, JohnC said:

Do you believe that Lazar has an upside as a third liner who can give you 12-15 goals? Or is that scoring expectation too high of an expectation? If this team can get some reasonable secondary scoring it will be beneficial. 

I think 10/10 is his ceiling. I'm not even sure he's an NHLer yet.

But I like him, and I'd bet on him.

[Taro T]

49 minutes ago, JohnC said:

Lazar is a player who was drafted in the first round and never met the expectations associated with his first round status. After some set backs and bouncing around he found his niche/role and embraced it. When he was sent to the AHL he was a full effort player there who earned his way back up to the NHL. If players with more skill such as Nylander and Mittelstadt had the same passion and drive that Lazar has they would be established NHLers. Passion and effort are talents. You can't win with only grinders on your team but you need them in the mix to have a well rounded roster.  

He's basically a Paille that wins a lot of faceoffs.  Because of where he was drafted, Paille was never going to get the opportunity to settle into the 4th line role he excelled at in Bah-stan.  Lazar wasn't going to fit in as a 4th liner as an Otter.  Is what it is, & this time that works in the Sabres favor.

[SHAAAUGHT!!!]

Everybody mentions him as a 4th liner, but I think that sells Lazar short.  He was great at killing penalties, skated hard every shift, converted from a skilled to a banger type player, great attitude, and is the type of player that can complement a lot of lines in different ways.   I think he could be effective from the 2nd line down to the 13th forward - depending on line chemistry.  This is a great depth signing at a great price that has promising upside.   2for2 Mr. Adams.  Well played sir.

I don't think this signing impacts Larry's contract at all at $800K AAV.  It's likely going to be what contracts are signed and trades occur for the top 9 forwards that dictate what type of money the Sabres are willing to spend on Larson and/or Girgs...

[Hawerchuk]

I like this signing. Hard worker and doesn't seem to take shifts off. He reminds me of a Adam Mair type player. Nothing sexy but he brings it every shift.

[bob_sauve28]

13 hours ago, nfreeman said:

Lazar reminds me of Adam Mair with more upside and less fighting.  Not a high ceiling, but fast, good size, decent hockey IQ and great enthusiasm.

Kind of like Killorn 

1 hour ago, JohnC said:

Do you believe that Lazar has an upside as a third liner who can give you 12-15 goals? Or is that scoring expectation too high of an expectation? If this team can get some reasonable secondary scoring it will be beneficial. 

I think he can score more. 

[Taro T]

55 minutes ago, SHAAAUGHT!!! said:

Everybody mentions him as a 4th liner, but I think that sells Lazar short.  He was great at killing penalties, skated hard every shift, converted from a skilled to a banger type player, great attitude, and is the type of player that can complement a lot of lines in different ways.   I think he could be effective from the 2nd line down to the 13th forward - depending on line chemistry.  This is a great depth signing at a great price that has promising upside.   2for2 Mr. Adams.  Well played sir.

I don't think this signing impacts Larry's contract at all at $800K AAV.  It's likely going to be what contracts are signed and trades occur for the top 9 forwards that dictate what type of money the Sabres are willing to spend on Larson and/or Girgs...

If the team is going to the playoffs on anything but a fluke, he HAS to, at best, be their 10th F.  If he's on their 2nd line, toss the season in the dumpster.

And it WAS a great signing.

[JohnC]

39 minutes ago, bob_sauve28 said:

Kind of like Killorn 

I think he can score more. 

I think that because he is such a high effort player that he can get between 10-12 or maybe a few more goals. That's fine with me. He has a grinder role and he will fulfill that role and provide energy for the rest of his line mates. 

[Gatorman0519]

Not bad.  If he is smart financially and continues to stick in the big league he could still set himself up for a nice life after hockey with 3 or 4 million even as a career 4th liner.

[JohnC]

1 hour ago, SHAAAUGHT!!! said:

Everybody mentions him as a 4th liner, but I think that sells Lazar short.  He was great at killing penalties, skated hard every shift, converted from a skilled to a banger type player, great attitude, and is the type of player that can complement a lot of lines in different ways.   I think he could be effective from the 2nd line down to the 13th forward - depending on line chemistry.  This is a great depth signing at a great price that has promising upside.   2for2 Mr. Adams.  Well played sir.

I don't think this signing impacts Larry's contract at all at $800K AAV.  It's likely going to be what contracts are signed and trades occur for the top 9 forwards that dictate what type of money the Sabres are willing to spend on Larson and/or Girgs...

As Taro stated if Lazar plays any time on the second line this team would not only have a dearth of talent but will be so irrelevant that it will be an invisible NHL franchise. 

[DarthEbriate]

1 hour ago, JohnC said:

As Taro stated if Lazar plays any time on the second line this team would not only have a dearth of talent but will be so irrelevant that it will be an invisible NHL franchise. 

When constructing the roster, yes, he's a bottom 6 forward.

But once we get into the season, whatever works, works. If Lazar is that perfect complement to a Staal-Cozens combo or Staal-Skinner combo, so be it. We've seen a line fail as often as we've seen a line gel. Girgs was stapled to Eichel a couple seasons back with no real benefit to either. But in the past we've seen Crosby and Sheary be great together (particularly that one playoff run) to the extent that PIT traded back for Sheary, despite him being a 4th liner for PIT before JBot brought him here. And Bure put up 60 with Gino Odjick as his opposite winger. So while Bure might have scored more, it certainly didn't slow him down.

Lines need the flexibility to find what clicks. Heck, if Eichel scores 82 points this year with Lazar on his wing AND we make the playoffs, I won't complain that Lazar's out of place. Until he misses a gaping empty-net tap-in to clinch a series we end up losing, and then I lament Reino's placement with Skinner-Cozens. 'Til then, though, gotta let things shake out.

[Thorner]

4 hours ago, Weave said:

Hustles, hits, forechecks well, good for a few timely goals, skates very well, not well suited to move up the lineup though.  He's essentially a more talented version of Matt Ellis.  Which isn't a bad thing.  He fits the cheap 4th liner role.  I think he has a bigger toolbox than Ellis had, but in today's NHL it isn't as effective as it would have been 10-12 yrs ago.

I think his skating and skill level will fit what Kreuger wants to do better than Larsson's skill set will.  But he doesn't have Larsson's pest-iness, which we don't have enough of already.  Hopefully we bring that back into the lineup in another deal this offseason, preferably with a top 6 player instead.

He doesn't have close to Larsson's defensive acumen, so if you are correct and Krueger sees him as Larsson's replacement (I don't, personally, think that is the case), it would inherently need to mean he intends on changing the way the checking line is deployed. 

Lazar would sink with Johan's usage. 

4 hours ago, Weave said:

At 17 overall if they expected more than they got out of him their expectations were out of whack.  That far into the first round the trend is for guys that make it to be role players. and even at that the success rate is below 50%.

Draft picks are overvalued in general.

I find this to be true, too. 

[Sabre fan]

If ever we need proof that teams make mistakes drafting (including the first round) Curtis is it. Having said that, he was the captain I believe of that amazing Canadian team that was loaded with talent and he has a ton of upside and I am tired of the same old lineup; no offense to Larson or Girgonson or Okoposo but we really need some fresh faces and a fresh mentality and focus. Curtis is a great start (along with Stall which was en excellent move). Give new GMKA two thumbs up so far! Keep it going!!!

[Thorner]

I'm just going to go ahead and alter my Location to better reflect an appropriate mindset