Confirmed Trade: [CGY/OTT] Curtis Lazar and Mike Kostka for Jyrki Jokipakka and a 2nd

[Bezer]

As a Flames fan, I not ecstatic, but I am fine with it.

Clearly this is a reclamation project, and second seems like a lot but it is a weak draft so I am not stressed about dropping a second on Lazar. He is also cost controlled at this point in his career which is another plus.

As far as Kevin, he is not a bad defense men but he is probably a 5-7 in the line up and he is cheap and young.

I think this has a chance to be a win-win.

 

[Stuzchuk]

I'm a very big Lazar advocate... but I'm VERY happy with this return

Do we know if Jokipakka cleared?

 

[YourAverageFan*]

Lazar did have a pretty good rookie season. Just needs to return to that form in order for this to be considered a success for the Flames, even if it means him being a career 3rd/4th liner

 

[Karl Eriksson]

Lazar could turn it around, and become a legit middle line player.

[MOD]

He is a good defensive player, wins battles, and is pretty fast. He also get pretty scrappy. At a minimum he can kill penalties and not be a liability on the ice.

He jus can't seem to produce offensively, and he's been tried with lots of line combos. This isn't a case of being glued to Chris Neil....he's had chances.

Maybe a change of scene and a new system helps him become a 40 point guy one day, which has to be a reasonable ceiling at this point.

 

[Lempo]

as a very big Lazar advocate... I'm VERY happy with this return

Do we know if Jokipakka cleared?

There's a thread about it further low saying he did. OTT didn't claim him, but then traded for him.

 

[DJJones]

I guess the real question becomes is he an improvement on Chiasson?

I'd love to get him to the pressbox

 

[Cynick]

Lazar needs time to put it together. Ottawa didn't give that to him. Management saw his strengths early but it became apparent that there were lots of areas that he needed to work on and the trajectory that the team had for him wasn't a fit. Hope it works out in Calgary but, if it does, it won't be overnight. I can see Calgary finding a very decent player in Lazar in 2 years or so.

The pick is a very sufficient return for the Sens. Don't know about the Finnish player but not expecting much there...

 

[Mitts]

Well the good thing is he is a young guy and has good character, hopefully he can turn things around.

 

[Korpse]

There's a thread about it further low saying he did. OTT didn't claim him, but then traded for him.

Likely wanted to get rid of Kostka if they were bringing in another D. Players clear and then get traded a fair amount of times, theres things management have to manage.

 

[Figgy44]

There's a thread about it further low saying he did. OTT didn't claim him, but then traded for him.

I'm guessing Ottawa wanted flexibility on having a guy in the minors?

I like Lazar as a reclamation project. I am hoping Lazar plays better closer to home. This could work well. Emphasis could. I am expecting at his peak a rookie Josh Jooris sort of player. Good bottom 6 buzz saw option. He might work great with Bennett. Even if we get half a season from him, we might win vs the player we would have picked.

Jyrki Jokkipakka AKA beef Jyrki or Kevin (ask Dallas) is an ok 6/7 Dman option at the age of 25. Not bad for a 7th rounder for Dallas. He is tall, has a little bit of physicality, but not much, stay at home LHD style. Some fans hate him, but IMO, he's playing confused and really didn't get Gulutzan's system. Change of scenery would work well for him. I think he will still develop and probably re-emerge as a bottom pairing mainstay on the Sens in a season or two.


I honestly think that we might expose Lazar over Brouwer. I think Lazar continues to stink for a little bit. Unlearning his bad habits, new system, not trusted by GG etc. I don't think Vegas would be interested in him over other options we will expose, but we shall see.

 

[SpezDispenser]

Oh, that's good news. If the D-man has cleared waivers already, we need a warm body in the AHL.

 

[Sureves]

Said it before, it's a fair deal. Lazar wore out his welcome in Ottawa due to unfortunate circumstances, but I think he's an NHL hockey player.

A 2nd is unlikely to be an NHL hockey player.

 

[Guardian17]

Interesting trade for both teams.

 

[Haatley]

I'm guessing Ottawa wanted flexibility on having a guy in the minors?

I like Lazar as a reclamation project. I am hoping Lazar plays better closer to home. This could work well. Emphasis could. I am expecting at his peak a rookie Josh Jooris sort of player. Good bottom 6 buzz saw option. He might work great with Bennett. Even if we get half a season from him, we might win vs the player we would have picked.

Jyrki Jokkipakka AKA beef Jyrki or Kevin (ask Dallas) is an ok 6/7 Dman option at the age of 25. Not bad for a 7th rounder for Dallas. He is tall, has a little bit of physicality, but not much, stay at home LHD style. Some fans hate him, but IMO, he's playing confused and really didn't get Gulutzan's system. Change of scenery would work well for him. I think he will still develop and probably re-emerge as a bottom pairing mainstay on the Sens in a season or two.


I honestly think that we might expose Lazar over Brouwer. I think Lazar continues to stink for a little bit. Unlearning his bad habits, new system, not trusted by GG etc. I don't think Vegas would be interested in him over other options we will expose, but we shall see.

Doubtful they trade a 2nd just to expose the guy they received. Terrible asset management.

 

[Ainsy01]

Flames now have 5 first round picks from 2013 draft in their system.

6 - Monahan
17 - Lazar
22 - Poirier
24 - Shinkaruk
28 - Klimchuk

 

[qwerty]

Didn't Lazar hit the 20 point mark last season? He probably is closer to that then the 1 assist player he is at the moment. I wonder if he can become the 3rd or 4th line centerman that can one day replace Matt Stajan.

I'm not crazy about giving up a 2nd. But as everyone has been pointing out, it's a weak draft. So the value of this year's 2nd is probably worth the same as other year's 3rds.

 

[danielpalfredsson]

Pretty sure OTT couldn't claim Jokipakka without putting someone else on waivers.

My interpretation is that Jokipakka is close to a throw in but that doesn't mean Ottawa doesn't need him. It might take two injuries to get him in the lineup at this point as Claesson has cemented himself as part of the NHL squad. Especially now that Boucher has forward depth, I can't see him rolling with 7 defenseman dressed as he has been known to sometimes do.

Ottawa has no one with real NHL experience after Boro and Claesson on D. So what this seems like to me is that OTT gets to back peddle and trade Lazar for a 2nd when they wanted a 1st but they can say "we got Jokipakka who'll add to our depth and be an NHLer for us blah blah".

I'm not as low on Lazar as other Sens fans. To me, I am not upset about this trade but I definitely think CGY got the better value here if this is a 2017 pick. If it ends up being a 2018 pick I feel a lot better about it from an Ottawa perspective as we don't have one next year and even if we don't draft someone with it, it is a solid piece of currency to have for trades since the Sens don't seem afraid of adding. If 2017 is a terrible draft as stated, CGY made out very well here as the player they would have gotten at 45-60 has a much smaller chance of making it than Lazar has to bounce back and carve out a career as a solid 20-30 point third liner.

 

[playasRus]

Lazar is underperforming this year because of getting sick to start the season with mono. I fully expect a bounce back season enxt year with a solid motivated offseason and he'll probably come back with a vengeance but top out as a 3rd line agitating winger. Kind of a poor mans Burrows.

 

[danielpalfredsson]

Didn't Lazar hit the 20 point mark last season? He probably is closer to that then the 1 assist player he is at the moment. I wonder if he can become the 3rd or 4th line centerman that can one day replace Matt Stajan.

I'm not crazy about giving up a 2nd. But as everyone has been pointing out, it's a weak draft. So the value of this year's 2nd is probably worth the same as other year's 3rds.

He averaged 20 points for his first two years where he was a 19/20 year old at the start of the season. He looked very very good during that Hamburglar run when Dave Cameron took over as head coach so it wouldn't surprise me if Dave Cameron has a high opinion on what Lazar might be capable of based on that run. He had mono in the off season and the Sens installed a new coach with a new system that was supposed to take months for the veterans to perfect which is why a segment of Sens fans don't think this year is reflective of what Lazar can do.

He also should evolve into a good leader off the ice. He has a rep for that.

If I'm a Flames fan, I wouldn't think that they made the steal of the century, but I'd be pretty happy to get Lazar for that pick. He's not going to be a top 6 player, nobody is trying to say that. But there's a good chance he could bounce back into a 20-30 point high motor third liner who ends up wearing a patch on his chest one day. This isn't a Yakupov situation where the player is a top 6 or bust type guy. Lazar's skillset is one that if his offensive doesn't translate from Junior to the NHL (which it hasn't) he still has all the tools to be a solid bottom 6 guy which is something teams need.

I don't think Ottawa would trade him if he could be sent to the AHL. They started him in the AHL this year but called him up after some injuries caused them to need players. He had a really good first game back and at that point the Sens weren't as secure as they are in now (even now they aren't secure) so it made sense for them to keep him up. But his play quickly declined and Guy Boucher didn't trust him enough to play him more than a few minutes a game. In Lazar's defense, he was playing with Kelly and Neil. In retrospect, allowing Lazar to play past his waiver date was a bit of a bone headed move but that's life.

 

[King In The North]

I don't think any Flames fans are considering this a steal. But he fills a need; he's young, he's a right hander, and despite what ppl say, at 21 there is still hope for him in the NHL. I'm fine with it.

 

[BigTruzz]

Really Calgary?
You can get players like Baertschi for 2nd round picks

 

[The Winter Soldier]

Pretty sure OTT couldn't claim Jokipakka without putting someone else on waivers.

My interpretation is that Jokipakka is close to a throw in but that doesn't mean Ottawa doesn't need him. It might take two injuries to get him in the lineup at this point as Claesson has cemented himself as part of the NHL squad. Especially now that Boucher has forward depth, I can't see him rolling with 7 defenseman dressed as he has been known to sometimes do.

Ottawa has no one with real NHL experience after Boro and Claesson on D. So what this seems like to me is that OTT gets to back peddle and trade Lazar for a 2nd when they wanted a 1st but they can say "we got Jokipakka who'll add to our depth and be an NHLer for us blah blah".

I'm not as low on Lazar as other Sens fans. To me, I am not upset about this trade but I definitely think CGY got the better value here if this is a 2017 pick. If it ends up being a 2018 pick I feel a lot better about it from an Ottawa perspective as we don't have one next year and even if we don't draft someone with it, it is a solid piece of currency to have for trades since the Sens don't seem afraid of adding. If 2017 is a terrible draft as stated, CGY made out very well here as the player they would have gotten at 45-60 has a much smaller chance of making it than Lazar has to bounce back and carve out a career as a solid 20-30 point third liner.

If it wasn't expansion, I am pretty sure Ottawa wouldn't trade Lazar. But it is, and they got back a 2nd rd pick. It is something you add to the cupboard because the game today with the cap. Is you have got to have a steady supply of young cheap talent in your system once players start going to RFA contracts. Or in some cases big money is spent on core players. In the end I don't think Lazar would be ahead of Brown and White. 2 guys I am very high on.

 

[Super Cake]

Flames now have 5 first round picks from 2013 draft in their system.

6 - Monahan
17 - Lazar
22 - Poirier
24 - Shinkaruk
28 - Klimchuk

Lets be honest here. If we did a redraft of that draft, Lazar wouldn't be picked in the 1st round.

 

[InfinityIggy]

Lets be honest here. If we did a redraft of that draft, Lazar wouldn't be picked in the 1st round.

I'm not sure anyone on that list but Monahan would

Sigh.

 

[Figgy44]

Doubtful they trade a 2nd just to expose the guy they received. Terrible asset management.

There's a difference between exposing and losing. Everyone you expose isn't lost. I think that long term Lazar will be a decent player, but not this season or next season.

Reread what I wrote. I think they expose Lazar and Vegas doesn't take him.