*Photo from the Hockey Writers*
The British Columbia Native is on his way home. The Vancouver Canucks and C/RW Curtis Lazar have agreed to a 3 year, $3 million deal with a $1 million AAV, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The Canucks have confirmed the signing.
Canucks GM Patrik Allvin said of Lazar that "Curtis is a valuable addition to our group. He grew up a Canucks fan, was raised in BC, and already has a strong connection to our club. He is a responsible 200-foot player who can line up at centre or on the wing. Curtis brings energy, an ability to kill penalties and takes draws from the right side, which will be extremely valuable for our team."
Last season with the Boston Bruins, Lazar ended the regular season with 8 goals and 8 assists, recording a -2 plus/minus rating while averaging 12:00 of ice time per game in 70 regular season games. He scored one goal in 7 playoff games last season for the Bruins.
In his career, Lazar has 35 goals and 55 assists, averaging 12:01 of ice time per game while recording a -28 plus/minus rating in 404 regular season games with 4 different teams. He has an additional one goal and one assist in 24 career playoff games.
Lazar said of signing in Vancouver that "It fits well. It's so close to home. I grew up a diehard Canucks fan. I got tons of photos wearing my old Canucks memorabilia and I had a special conversation with my grandpa this morning too because we watched a lot of Canucks games growing up and he's pretty happy to be able to throw on his Canucks gear again as well, so it's a special day for the entire extended family."
He is coming back to his native province, as Lazar is a native of Salmon Arm, British Columbia. He represented team Canada at the 2014 and 2015 IIHF World Junior Championships, and was the captain of the 2015 team that took home the gold medal. Lazar has played for the Ottawa Senators, Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres, and the Bruins in his career.
Lazar said of the Canucks that "They expressed a lot of interest throughout this whole process. Obviously, they're very close to my heart, being a BC boy growing up, cheering them on your every step of the way, and the timing just seemed right. I like the direction the team's going. I feel like there's a need for a player like myself and I'm looking forward to contributing. Being close to home, that's big, I got, a young family and the stars aligned perfectly, so I couldn't be more excited."
The signing of Lazar gives the Canucks depth on their 4th line, as Lazar is a defense first forward who can fit into Vancouver's penalty kill plans as a former first round pick in 2013 by the Senators.
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