Canucks move Lazar to Devils in trade deadline deal

Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports

The Vancouver Canucks have traded forward Curtis Lazar to the New Jersey Devils, according to multiple reports.

The Canucks are returning a fourth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.

“I’m honestly thrilled,” Lazar said on TSN’s Trade Deadline show. “This time of year, everyone is a little on edge. I guess this is my third-time kind of being moved around the week at the deadline, but joining a team like New Jersey, a team I’ve got a lot of respect for the way that they play, the steps that they’ve taken.

“I’m excited, and I can’t wait to get there with the guys and get acclimated and make a push here for a long postseason run.”

Lazar to NJ for a 4th in 2024

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) March 3, 2023

Lazar, from Salmon Arm, BC, has five points (three goals, two assists) in 45 games this season.

He signed a three-year contract worth $1 million annually with the Canucks on July 13.

“We would like thank Curtis for his time in Vancouver,” Patrik Allvin, Vancouver’s general manager, said in a statement. “He brought a lot of great energy and a positive attitude to the rink every day. We wish him the best of luck in New Jersey.”

New Jersey will be Lazar’s sixth NHL team.

He was originally selected in the first round (No. 17) of the 2013 NHL Draft by the Ottawa Senators, and was moved at the 2017 NHL Trade Deadline to the Calgary Flames. He also played with the Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres before signing with the Canucks last summer.

Lazar, 28, has 95 points (38 goals, 57 assists) in 449 games over parts of nine seasons in the NHL.

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