3 Players That Could Be This Year's "Curtis Lazar" Trade

The New Jersey Devils made a savvy, under-the-radar move when they traded for Curtis Lazar at last year's NHL Trade Deadline. The Devils should look into a similar type of trade before this year's deadline.

By Nick Natale | Feb 27, 2024

Washington Capitals v Florida Panthers / Bruce Bennett/GettyImages

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Travis Hamonic - Ottawa Senators

Travis Hamonic has always been a solid defenseman who, in his heyday, was traded for a first and two second-round picks. Now, the 33-year-old has found a role as a more traditional stay-at-home defenseman with the Ottawa Senators.

In Hamonic's 2022-23 season, he managed to flash a bit of offense, putting up 21 points. However, he's come back down to earth this year, scoring just six points. What may be most impressive is Hamonic's +/-. It's not particularly a stat that people take much stock in nowadays, but on a very poor defensive team in Ottawa, Hamonic has only a -7.

Hamonic currently has one more season left on his deal at $1.1 million. What makes him an intriguing target is the current state of the Devils' defense. With both Colin Miller and Brendan Smith pending UFA's, there is a veteran defenseman void for next season. The right-handed Hamonic could slide into that number seven defenseman spot that will be vacated after this season and do so at a much lower AAV than what they'd find on the free agent market.

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