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Curtis Lazar has earned an everyday role for the Oilers
Edmonton Oilers Curtis Lazar
Photo credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images
Golden Hockey
Jan 19, 2026, 13:00 ESTUpdated: Jan 19, 2026, 13:59 EST
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This summer, the Edmonton Oilers parted ways with several veteran bottom-six forwards and acquired younger replacements. Andrew Mangiapane and Jack Roslovic carried the most name value out of the new additions, and David Tomášek provided plenty of intrigue coming off a big year in Sweden.
A player who might’ve gone under the radar amongst all the new faces was Curtis Lazar. Through 50 games, the Oilers have a 17-7-3 record with Lazar in the lineup this season and an 8-10-5 record without him. At league minimum salary, he’s turning out to be a savvy bet for Edmonton. 
Lazar, now 30, isn’t a flashy player; his career high in points is 25, and he doesn’t have a 10-goal season to his name. Still, he has carved out a long career for himself as a reliable 4th line center, and that’s precisely what he’s been for the Oilers.  
The former Edmonton Oil King has managed to stick around in the NHL for over a decade by playing a simple, straight-line game and being solid defensively. He ranks near the top in every defensive metric for the Oilers this season:
Along with his excellent goal suppression, Lazar leads Edmonton in hits per hour and isn’t afraid to go hard to the net or cause a scrum. This grittiness and defensive effort have developed into a nice identity for the fourth line, with players like Mattias Janmark and Trent Frederic playing a similar style.

Beating out the competition

This season started with some fierce competition for Edmonton’s bottom-six centre spots. Adam Henrique and Noah Philp were the obvious candidates battling with Lazar for ice time, but Tomášek, Frederic, and Roslovic also had some experience at the position.
Lazar only played two of the first 12 games, but as the competition dropped off, he began earning more opportunities. In late December, Edmonton waived Philp, and Tomášek returned to Sweden, terminating his contract with the Oilers.
Roslovic started being deployed as the third line center, and Adam Henrique sustained an injury, finally clearing the space for Lazar to run with the 4C job.
On the season, Lazar has a 54.6 percent Expected Goal Share, which is in the top four among Oiler forwards this season (minimum 100 minutes). He’s done a much better job at controlling play than Henrique, who holds just a 48.2 percent Expected Goal Share.
Amazingly, despite having just five points, Lazar is more than doubling Henrique’s 5-on-5 point-scoring rate. Lazar has 1.34 points per hour, while Henrique has produced an abysmal 0.63 points per hour.
At this point, Lazar is outperforming Henrique just about in every metric across the board. When he returns from LTIR, I would be hesitant to disrupt the fourth line.
Lazar is giving the Oilers exactly what they hoped to find when they reshaped their bottom six this summer. On a roster where roles have been fluid, he earned his spot through consistent hard work and solid underlying results. When the Oilers are healthy, tough lineup decisions are coming, but Lazar should not be one of them. 

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