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Lazar and Kapanen Get It: The Unglamorous Work Still Matters
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- Lazar and Kapanen Get It: The Unglamorous Work Still Matters
For weeks, the conversation around the Oilers ' bottom six has been dominated by what's missing. What Trent Frederic isn't providing. What Andrew Mangiapane won't do. The frustration over players who haven't embraced the roles the team needs them to fill.
Tuesday night against Nashville offered a different perspective. Curtis Lazar and Kasperi Kapanen, both back in the lineup, reminded everyone what it looks like when players accept their roles—and more importantly, understand why those roles matter.
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Start with Kapanen, who's been out for three months and is trying to carve out a spot alongside Leon Draisaitl. He's not delusional about what that means. He's not out there trying to be a top-six scorer. He knows exactly what the job is.
"The consistency has been one thing that hasn't been the best. So I think I'm trying to focus on that and accept the role that I've been given. Get on pucks and try to get them back to Leon and get open. And if we score while doing it, then that's just a bonus," Kapanen said.
He's not defining success by points. He's defining it by doing the work that allows Draisaitl to do what he does best. Retrieve pucks. Create space. Be available. The offence is secondary to the function. It's a mindset that's been missing from other parts of the lineup.
Some players come into bottom-six roles expecting offence to just happen, expecting their talent alone to translate into production. When it doesn't, they get frustrated, they cheat for chances, they drift away from the grunt work that makes their linemates effective. Kapanen seems determined not to fall into that trap.
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Lazar's perspective on limited minutes should be required listening for every depth player in the league.
"You get out there, you give it your all. I'm comfortable in the system. I know my role, I know my strengths. Just go out there and leave it all on the ice at all the times. It may not generate much, but when it does, it's big for the team," Lazar said.
Seven or eight minutes a night doesn't sound like much. For players who've been offensive drivers at other levels, it can feel insulting. But Lazar understands something crucial: those minutes still matter. They matter to the outcome of games, and they matter to keeping yourself ready for when opportunity arises.
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"It's still the NHL, right? You're gonna take those minutes anytime. There's people around the world that would do a lot of things just to get a chance at this league," added Lazar. "So I can be a specialist in the city as long as my name continues to get called. Even if (the minutes) aren't that much, you go out there, and you do a job, because say we lose a guy early, then the role gets a little bit more important here and there.
"So it takes an army, and for myself, it's that next shift into next shift mentality."
There's genuine perspective in that answer that goes beyond hockey platitudes. He's actually grateful to be playing in the NHL, even in a limited capacity. He understands that injuries happen, that situations change, and that staying ready means treating every shift like it matters—because it does.
This is the blueprint that works. Look at Zach Hyman, who built a career on doing unglamorous work before becoming a 50-goal scorer. He didn't get there by resenting his role or waiting for opportunities to be handed to him. He got there by forechecking relentlessly, going to the net, battling for pucks, and making life easier for Connor McDavid. The offence came because he was so committed to everything else.
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Kapanen's path back from injury won't be easy. Consistency is always the challenge after long layoffs, and playing with Draisaitl brings pressure even if the expectations are clearly defined. But his mindset seems right. He's focused on the process, not the results.
Lazar's already proven he can handle this role. He's done it before, and he'll do it again. His attitude about limited minutes isn't fake positivity—it's genuine understanding of what it takes to stick in the NHL.
The Oilers need more of this. They need players who understand that doing unglamorous work isn't settling—it's contributing. Players who recognize that retrieving pucks, killing penalties, and playing smart defensive hockey matters just as much as scoring goals. Players who are grateful to be in the NHL, not resentful about their place in it.
Tuesday night, Lazar and Kapanen showed what that looks like. The Oilers could use a lot more of it.
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