Curtis Lazar and 5 other former NHL 1st-round picks trying to make it on new teams

Curtis Lazar’s career in the NHL hasn’t quite gone according to plan. The 17th overall pick in the 2013 draft, he’s already on his second team after the Ottawa Senators pulled the plug last spring. Now a member of the Calgary Flames, Lazar is trying to turn over to a new chapter, both physically and mentally.

”Confidence is something I had to work on on the ice this last year,” Lazar said recently in an article for the Flames’ team website.

”Off it — believe it or not from how much I like to talk — I’m never at the center of a room, not all about the attention. I’m one of those guys kinda tucked away in a corner, going about my business.

”But playing this game, you need swagger. You have to trust your instincts. That’s imperative. Otherwise, you feel a bit lost, always seem to get caught in-between.”

It’s not hard to see why Lazar’s confidence was shaken. After starring with the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings, he made the immediate leap to the Senators in 2014 when he was just 19. Instead of progressing into a key contributor with Ottawa, the first-round pick stagnated as the pressure built for him to live up to his pedigree.

By the time the Sens traded him to the Flames in March for defenseman Jyrki Jokipakka and a second-round pick, the public reaction was largely to be impressed that Ottawa could even get that kind of return. In two-plus seasons, Lazar had 36 points in 176 games. His stock had plummeted, although Calgary decided to take a shot to see if he can recapture his old potential.

That likely means an opportunity on the Flames’ fourth line to open the season, which probably isn’t where Lazar envisioned himself when he walked on stage to shake Gary Bettman’s hand four years ago.

But Lazar is still quite young, and he’ll be looking to dispel the notions that he’s a bust. “Honestly,” Lazar said to the team website, “I’m happy how it played out last year, not getting thrown into the fire right away. Expectations are something that’ve come back to haunt me in my career so far.”

Lazar is the poster boy this season for a struggling former first-round pick trying to prove himself in a new environment, but he’s not the only one. Here’s a look at some other recent ex-top prospects no longer with their draft teams who are still trying to make it.

The Islanders drafted Reinhart with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2012 draft expecting to have the perfect complement to John Tavares on the backend. Instead, the big, physical defenseman is already on his third team after Vegas selected him in the expansion draft.

It’s not hard to see why the Golden Knights decided to take a flier. Reinhart was considered an elite prospect just a few years ago, and he’s coming off a fine AHL season in which he recorded 21 points in 54 games with the Bakersfield Condors. He’s still massive (6’4, 216 pounds). He’s only 23 years old. There’s still some potential here, even if he’ll never live up to how high he was drafted.

The biggest issue for Reinhart’s chances in Vegas might be the crowded depth chart. The Golden Knights have 11 defensemen on their active roster right now, per Cap Friendly, so competition in training camp is going to be fierce. But Reinhart is among the youngest players there, and Vegas will be rooting for him to succeed as it tries to build long-term.

There’s little doubt that Rychel, the No. 19 pick in the 2013 draft by Columbus, can put up AHL numbers. He’s recorded 112 points in 161 games at that level, including 52 in 73 games with the Toronto Marlies last season. It would be nice to see the soon-to-be 23-year-old tested in a tougher role.

The trouble is that the Maple Leafs are absolutely stacked at forward. They may have Connor Brown, coming off a 20-goal rookie season, playing on the fourth line. Kasperi Kapanen, Frederik Gauthier, and Jeremy Bracco are also beating down the door from the minors looking for playing time.

It’s a tough situation for Rychel, who has shown flashes of potential as a good power forward and is getting buried just he’s entering his prime years. Toronto’s depth should be the envy of the league, but Rychel might be a sensible trade candidate for a team that could immediately offer NHL playing time.

The Blackhawks had a lot of chances to try out McNeill after selecting him with the 18th pick in the 2011 draft, but they repeatedly passed him over in favor of other players with lesser pedigrees. Eventually, the team bailed by trading him to the Stars in March as part of the Johnny Oduya deal.

McNeill was essentially a throw-in, and now at age 24, he’s trying to show that he won’t end up being an AHL lifer. Part of the problem is how his point production has stagnated in the minors as he’s gotten older.

2013-14: 37 points in 76 games (.49 points per game)
2014-15: 44 points in 63 games (.70 points per game)
2015-16: 48 points in 64 games (.75 points per game)
2016-17: 39 points in 79 games (.49 points per game)

He seemed to be on the right track until last season, when he publicly admitted the frustration of being passed over by the Blackhawks began to get to him. Unfortunately, he’s now in a similar situation in Dallas, where a very good team with several star forwards is trying to make a Stanley Cup run.

McNeill could push for time on the fourth line, where the likes of Devin Shore, Curtis McKenzie, Brian Flynn, Tyler Pitlick, Adam Cracknell, and Gemel Smith are competing for playing time. He’ll be eligible for arbitration as an RFA next summer.

An undersized, mobile defenseman drafted quite high before they became all the rage, Murphy hasn’t found his place in the league, however. He got traded this offseason to the Flames, who released him the next day. When free agency opened, he signed a one-year, $700,000 with the Wild.

Now competing for a shot at Minnesota’s third pairing, Murphy is actually in a good spot to blossom. The team’s other options include Kyle Quincey, Mike Reilly, and Gustav Olofsson. Murphy should have a good chance of beating out a couple of those guys for playing time.

In the AHL, he’s recorded 66 points in 89 games, showing off the puck-moving skills that made him the No. 12 pick in the 2011 draft. It just never translated in Carolina, where he put up 37 points and a minus-2.1 percent Corsi Relative in 151 games despite being used in fairly favorable roles.

The Wild don’t have much size on defense anyway, so Murphy should fit into a speedy, aggressive system that embraces that. It’s a good fit for both sides.

Mueller, the No. 18 pick in the 2013 draft, was shuttled between the AHL and NHL so often by the Sharks that it became a running joke of sorts. Both teams play in San Jose and Mueller was often used for emergency depth or salary cap gymnastics, even though he’s only appeared in 15 games at the NHL level.

The Sharks finally gave up on Mueller this offseason by trading him and a fifth-round pick to the Devils for second- and fourth-round picks.

“Mirco is adding another piece to what we’re trying to build here,” Devils coach John Hynes told NJ.com after the trade. “He’s a young player; he can play with pace. He’s a very good skater. He’s got size, which is something we need on the back end. He makes a good first pass. He allows you to get out of your own zone because he can break out, he can end plays defensively, get possession, make the pass to be able to transition yourself out of defensive situations.”

Mueller, 22, should get a prime chance to play on an up-and-coming New Jersey team that’s thin on defense. The Devils also brought in top college free agent Will Butcher and re-signed Damon Severson to a six-year deal this summer, but they still don’t have the pieces to stitch together a formidable blue line. Mueller could help there.