For Curtis Lazar, the decision to sign in Edmonton was an easy one.

Lazar spent his junior hockey career in the city as a member of the Western Hockey League’s Oil Kings (2010-14), winning two league titles as well as the Memorial Cup in his final season.

Since then, Lazar’s career has taken him all over North America. Drafted 17th overall by the Ottawa Senators in 2013, the Salmon Arm, B.C., native has also had stops with the Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins, Vancouver Canucks and New Jersey Devils.

But the opportunity to return to Edmonton on a one-year, $775,000 deal couldn’t be passed up.

"I'm super happy to be going back to Edmonton, I think everybody knows that's where my hockey career started, playing junior and I had a lot of success there. We were the last team from the WHL to win the Memorial Cup," Lazar told NHL.com.

"This summer, kind of looking at the landscape of the league and after the tough season I had last year, I was thinking of where I can get my game back and where I can help a team win? Edmonton checked all those boxes.

"It came down to them reaching out and when I got that phone call, it was a no-brainer for me. I'm super happy, I don't think I could end up in a better place and I'm looking forward to get going."

The last time he played in Edmonton, Lazar was a player who established himself as a scorer in junior hockey, scoring 41 goals and 76 points in 58 games in his last WHL season.

Since making the jump to the NHL, Lazar said he realized he needed to change the way he played the game if he was going to have a long career.

"I'm still going, so that's always a good thing. My career has had a little bit of everything," Lazar said. "I was a first-round pick and was selected to score goals and fill the net, which really didn't materialize, so I had a decision to make. And instead of getting angry and complain that I'm not getting the opportunity, I just asked myself what can I be the best at and carve out a role?

"That came down to being an energetic, north-south, bottom six-player that specializes in the grunt work, playing those heavy minutes, killing penalties and winning faceoffs and doing things like that."

Lazar has his struggles last season playing with the Devils. After netting a career-high 25 points in 71 games with New Jersey in 2023-24, he had just five points in 48 games last season as he missed 17 games due to knee surgery and struggled to come back from it.

He now joins an Oilers team coming off a second straight loss in the Stanley Cup Final and has had a lot of change to their lineup depth. Corey Perry, John Klingberg and Connor Brown all departed in free agency while Evander Kane and Viktor Arvidsson were traded.

Along with Lazar, the Oilers signed former Calgary Flames winger Andrew Mangiapane to a two-year contract and re-signed forwards Kasperi Kapanen (one year) and Trent Frederic (eight years).

Lazar already has familiarity with Edmonton’s superstar duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. He and McDavid won gold together at the 2015 World Juniors for Canada.

"Connor and I were roommates at the World Juniors, we played two years there together and I played against Leon in the Western Hockey League time and time again," Lazar said. "I've already talked to both guys about the fit coming to Edmonton, how much fun it's going to be and how much work it's going to take.

"I love their winning mindset and I'm going to try and do as much heavy lifting as I can to help them out."
 

Oilers acquire Howard from Lightning

The Oilers remained busy this off-season, acquiring prospect Isaac Howard from the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night in exchange for prospect Sam O’Reilly.

Howard then inked a three-year, entry-level contract with Edmonton beginning in the 2025-26 season.

The 21-year-old forward had 26 goals and 52 points in 37 games last season with Michigan State University, earning the Hobey Baker award as the top player in NCAA men’s hockey.

He was selected 31st overall by Tampa Bay in 2022.

In May, Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois said the team was unable to come to terms on a deal with Howard and said it was “unlikely” he was going to sign with Tampa Bay following his NCAA career. He admitted it was a surprise that Howard did not want to sign with the team.

“When I chatted with Isaac, he was really candid and I appreciate his honesty and I thank him for his honesty, he values the opportunity to choose the club that he believes is the best fit for him,” said BriseBois in May.

Prior to the trade, Howard would have become a free agent following his senior season on Aug. 15, 2026, and the Lightning would’ve received a compensatory second-round pick.