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Two days after the 2024 free agent market opened, New Jersey Devils General Manager Tom Fitzgerald called a news conference. One of the questions was who would play center on the third and fourth lines. The latter was missing from Fitzgerald’s offseason additions. since Paul Cotter and his 77 faceoffs in two seasons in Las Vegas strongly suggest he is not a center. You might think this isn’t a critical hole in the lineup, but there’s still a hole that needs to be filled. Fortunately, Fitzgerald has an answer. According to James Nichols of NJ Hockey News,the third and fourth line center roles will be filled by Erik Haula and Curtis Lazar. Haula is definitely a center. But Curtis Lazar? Is Curtis Lazar a center? Can he be a center?
In fact…from a confrontation perspective…it is true.
Generally, to determine if someone is a center, I look at how many faceoffs he participates in. While I don’t think faceoffs are that important in the big picture — stick with that — someone playing center should line up on the dot frequently for draws. For Haula, that’s easy. Just look at the many draws he’s had. But Lazar? Is he one of them? Can he become one of them? Let’s take a closer look.
Last season, Here are the Devils that had at least 100 faceoffs last season, in this order: Nico Hischier, Erik Haula, Michael McLeod, Curtis Lazar, Jack Hughes, Dawson Mercer, Tomas Nosek and Chris Tierney. Yes, Lazar has more draws than Jack Hughes. And Mercer, Who is better as a winger than as a center. There are also Nosek and Tierney, the six centers who are actually ranked at the bottom. For various reasons, neither of them can stay in the lineup. Nosek is the most injured, and Tierney’s game quality is not good. Lazar participated in 365 faceoffs in the 2023-24 season. He won 48.8%; this percentage is higher than Hughes and Mercer.
However, that was last season, and McLeod’s suspension and other injuries in the lineup necessitated some backup options. Lazar has been in the NHL since the 2014-15 season and has played 524 games in his career. Has he played in at least a fair number of matchups over the past few seasons with Ottawa, Boston, Buffalo, Calgary, and/or Vancouver? (Aside: Lazar definitely qualifies as a pro.)
Answer: ActuallyKind of. At least in the clutch. He drew 384 times with the Senators in the 2015-16 season. Ranked fifth on the team behind Mika Zibanejad, JG Pageau, Kyle Turris and Zack Smith. He played 361 tying innings with the Sabres in 2019-20. He finished fourth on the team behind Jack Eichel, Johan Larsson and Marcus Johansson. He scored a total of 335 points between Buffalo and Boston in 2021. He also scored 278 points with the B’s in 2021-22; In fifth place (and behind Patrice Bergeron, Charlie Coyle, Haula and Nosek), it was a long way back. Lazar’s past has him playing as a regular center for at least part of the season. Or at least being the first option off the bench when someone is out. He’s not just switching around a few guys.
The relevant question is, is Lazar any good at winning these draws? Actually, it isn’t. He has exactly two seasons in which he has played more than 100 faceoffs and won more than half of them: 2019-20 in Buffalo (51.3%, 361 ties) and 2022-23, mostly in Vancouver, because injuries limited him to just four games for the Devils (51.5%, 272 ties). In every other season he’s had a win rate of 48.9% or less. That’s probably OK, because winning ties is far from the ultimate factor in a coach’s decision to put someone at center.
Two (extreme) examples of great centers who struggled when facing off for the ball
First: Allow me to introduce you to Connor McDavid. He could very well break 1,000 career points next season in less than 700 games. (He needs to get 18 points in 55 games. I think he can do it.) He just became First non-Gretzky and non-Lemieux player once Scored 40 points in the playoffs He is also the first person to do so since Gretzky in 1993. He also only won more than half of his regular season matchups three times. and 339 duels, winning 42.8% of them – 3rd most in the playoffs. McDavid is arguably the best player in the world. The only aspect of his game that isn’t great is winning draws. I promise you, he doesn’t need to get better at that aspect to continue to be the best player in the world. Or to continue playing the position he absolutely excels at. On-ice xGF% is 61.88% and CF/60 ratio is over 74 According to Natural Stat Trick, he is an excellent center.
Second: Allow me to introduce you to Patrick Elias. Wait, Elias is a center? Actually, yes, for a while he was. From the time Elias played one (1) game in the NHL in 1995-96 to his final season in 2015-16, Patrick Elias participated in 5,765 faceoffs. While this rate is low every season, it proves that he played center more than a few times in his 1,240 games with the Devils. Elias ranks fifth in total faceoffs for the Devils during that span. He trails John Madden, Travis Zajac, Bobby Holick and Scott Gomez. To pinpoint exactly when center Elias became a star, it was mostly in the latter half of his career. Elias played at least 400 faceoffs in 2002-03 (427), 2009-10 (457) and 2010-11 (498). He played over 600 faceoffs in 2013-14 (677) and 2014-15 (673). He played 776 faceoffs in 2007-08. His most faceoffs season was 2011-12, when he played 1,369 faceoffs, which largely drove that number. At the very least, we have to say that Elias played center for most of his career with the Devils, even if his best performances were on the left wing.
Is Elias good at scrimmage? Of course not. His best winning percentage in those seasons was 45.6% (2007-08), and his lowest was 39.1% (2014-15). I’m sure I’ve complained about this, but multiple coaches have kept doing it. Why? Because Elias excels in everything else a center needs to be. Elias is a 5 on 5 ice machine Where relevant data is available for the 2007-08 season. He’s also a productive player in his own right. Granted, he’s not nearly as productive as McDavid. But he’s been good enough that a low faceoff win rate isn’t enough to force a change. And his 5-on-5 ice play rate suggests that, with the exception of the 2014-15 season, he’s been a very productive player (I blame Father Time).
Reason: Curtis Lazar is clearly inferior to McDavid or Elias. However, the larger point I make with these two examples is that centers are important for more than just whether they handle scrums well. If a player does what the coach asks him to do, plays a responsible game, and — crucially for a fourth-line role — doesn’t drag the team down at 5-on-5, that’s enough. Even if you and I hold our breath every time we see them line up for a defensive zone draw.
(Aside: What about the other way around? Sure, some of the best centers in the world are great at catching the ball, like Alexander Barkov. But if scrimmage is so important, why is it never Michael MacLeod Pay or give David Steckel’s career was longerAnswer: Because they are not that great back Also, from a team level, the Devils were excellent in the faceoff last season. The third best in the NHL. They still missed the playoffs by 10 points. Winning more ties wouldn’t have gotten them those points. Just ask Pittsburgh.)
To this end, the real question is…
Can Lazar be a responsible fourth-line player?
Actually it is.
This is not guaranteed. His play rate in Natural Stat Trick five-on-five games has fluctuated from positive to very poor. However, he posted 48.35% CF%, 48.50% SF%, 53.23% GF% and 52.55% xGF% in his first full season in New Jersey. He definitely has room for improvement, but it’s good for a player at this position to have good numbers in both expected and actual goals, especially on a weak Devils team with a constant rotation of six forwards.
What about discipline? Although 12 minor penalties in a 5-on-5 game is nothinghe got 17 calls, which puts him in a good position in that regard. Lazar doesn’t ask for too much, he gives too much, which is good. How is the production? Scored 6 goals, 15 assists and 21 points in 5-on-5 games It was a perfect performance for a fourth-line player. It was also the most productive season at five-on-five in his entire career. Maybe it won’t be repeated in 2024-25. Six of those assists were given to McLeod.
To be clear, Lazar is definitely on that end His most common forward teammates were Nathan Bastian, Haula, McLeod and Mercer. When he’s with Haula or McLeod, it’s reasonable to assume he’s not actually lining up at center. But with the others, he probably is. Considering the forwards he’s most often paired with still have less than 200 minutes combined, there’s a lot of time next to Lazar. Especially if the Devils go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
Overall, Lazar was a very good six-man forward for the Devils last season. As long as he doesn’t get too crazy with the team’s new emphasis on playing more aggressively, he could be a decent player on this team. If that’s what Sheldon Keefe and his staff expect, Lazar could perform well even if he only wins 45% of his faceoffs. If he wins half of his faceoffs, that’s great, but I don’t think he’s necessary to play the role Fitzgerald has laid out for him. Nosek is gone, Tierney isn’t signed, McLeod is definitely gone, and Utica’s center field includes Justin Dowling and Sean Bowers, so the competition isn’t great.
Of course, things could change. Don’t be surprised if the Devils try to add a fourth-line center before training camp. Maybe a tryout. They might even look to acquire a center during the season. Especially if Lazar struggles to fill the role or gets injured, and Utica’s other options aren’t as good. Here’s an answer to the headline, though. Yes, Lazar is a center. To a certain extent. He can do it, at least in a pinch. It’s also not surprising that Fitzgerald named him a center.
Your opinion
Now I turn to you, the important people. Do you view Curtis Lazar as a center? Do you think he has the ability to be a fourth-line center? What are your expectations for him as a center? How successful do you think Lazar will be this season? Please leave your answers and other thoughts about Lazar and fourth-line centers in the comments. Thanks for reading.
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