Yesterday evening, the Buffalo Sabres announced that they had re-signed pending free-agent forward, Curtis Lazar to a two-year, $800,000 AAV contract. After joining the blue-and-gold as a depth reserve last offseason, the 25-year-old ended up playing 38 games at the NHL level. Evolving Hockey’s projected contract value of $813,000 AAV proved to be spot-on in this case (as it tends to be).

Despite a rough start where he managed only one point in his first nine contests, his high-energy style ended up resulting in better base production. His 21-point pace over an 82-game season tied a career-best. While his base scoring production was still that of an average fourth-liner, his underlying metrics were actually quite good.

For as uneventful as his presence was on offense, he was outstanding in his own end. Johan Larsson, Zemgus Girgensons, and Kyle Okposo (members of the famed “LOG” line), finished with better xGA/60 marks than Lazar’s rate of 2.06. That metric is even more impressive if you consider the fact that his OZS rate stood at just over 40-percent on the year (third-lowest among Sabres forwards).

Interestingly enough, Lazar really struggled as a shot-suppression entity for his first few seasons in the big league. In fact, he was positively impactful in that area for the first time in his career this season in Buffalo.

The fact that he was able to prove useful in that area while flanking players like Jimmy Vesey, Jeff Skinner, and Marcus Johansson as his most frequent linemates speaks toward the fact that his defensive metrics weren’t teammate dependent. All three players held positive overall xG rates with Lazar on their line, particularly Johansson who experienced more than an 11-percent leap in that area.

Lazar’s even-strength offensive GAR rate, which was slightly negative, was more than made up for by his even-strength prevention GAR rate of 10.9. As a player who’s NHL future was certainly in question prior to the 2019-20 campaign, he took his one-year chance with the Sabres and proved that he can still serve in a defensive role despite never living up to his draft pedigree (selected 17^th overall by the Ottawa Senators in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft).

The most interesting aspect of this re-signing is speculating where the Sabres will deploy Lazar next season. There are a few potential scenarios, some more palatable than others. If Kevyn Adams sees him as a potential replacement for Larsson centering the fourth-line, it might be ill-advised. While he did play last season with a healthy split between center and wing, very few pivots in the NHL could handle Larsson’s deployment setup without sacrificing more chances-against.

If the Sabres plan to use Lazar as a defensively-deployed winger beside a very good two-way center, his competent play in his own zone could make for a good fit. Pair that with his fast, aggressive playing style, and it may end up being the best way to optimize his metrics and really squeeze value out of a very inexpensive contract. He could also be used to help shelter a more offensively aggressive young player on the opposite side if need be.

At the end of the day, this is a value deal to help fill a bottom-six role with someone who appeared to be a strong fit in Ralph Krueger’s system. Even if he cannot duplicate his underlying production from 2019-20, he is at worst an outstanding veteran presence to help out at the AHL level. In a truncated offseason with a laundry list of tasks ahead, checking this spot off the agenda is an underrated move for Adams.

Charts courtesy of Hockeyviz and Charting Hockey

Advanced-Metrics and TOI Data courtesy of Evolving Hockey and Natural Stat Trick

Photo Credit: Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images