The Calgary Flames made a few roster moves today placing Curtis Lazar, Anthony Peluso, and Brett Kulak on waivers.
This felt like a long time coming for Lazar. The 23-year-old forward tallied just three goals and 15 points in 69 games with the Flames and never showed any signs he could develop into the player people hoped he'd be when he was chosen 17th overall in 2013.
Prior to the Flames acquiring Lazar during the 2016-17 season, he had one point in 33 games. He also needed to be protected in the expansion draft. Trading anything for him – let alone a 2nd rounder – seemed like a subpar decision at the time and it certainly played out that way.
With a suddenly deep forward core, aided by the apparent readiness of Dillon Dube and Andrew Mangiapane, the Flames had no choice to cut the cord. I'm surprised it took them this long.
I don't think Peluso ever had a legitimate shot of making the team – at least he shouldn't have. Peluso is a possession anchor who brings nothing to the table offensively. He doesn't play special teams either. Giving him a roster spot in today's NHL would be a massive waste.
I think Kulak is a serviceable 3rd pairing defender but I'm hardly surprised he was waived. The Flames were clearly not overly high on him (look at how his contract situation was handled in the summer) and he didn't have a great training camp. Factor in consistently strong showings from Juuso Valimaki as well as Rasmus Andersson and the writing was on the wall.
These moves suggest the Flames are ready to give the kids an opportunity to prove themselves. Let's see what they can do.
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