Lazar didn't have the best season last year, but I thought he was really improving on the defensive side of the puck, as well as becoming a really solid forechecker. I do think that there is some upside to him. It isn't like he is too old, or that he has been blessed with bucket loads of solid minutes so that he can work on his offensive game.
Keep him in the AHL a while longer. Just let him really find his game again, and the Flames might just have a solid player on their hands. He is fast, he is physical, he is defensively responsible and he is a total team guy. If he is able to just improve his offensive game a bit to the point where he can be a decent reliable depth scorer (certainly not out of the question), he can be a valuable player for the Flames. Who really knows what his offensive upside REALLY is in light of how he has been rushed and deployed in the NHL thus far. I wouldn't bet against him.
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