This isn't the classic case of a top prospect failing to find traction, and change in scenery being the only practical recourse.

But it's trending that way.

Ottawa Senators former first-round draft selection Curtis Lazar can't crack Guy Boucher's lineup, can't produce when he does dress - either for the big club or the farm - and seems in danger of circling the NHL drain.

Lazar has diminished in the final season of his entry-level deal, contributing one assist in 27 appearances with the Senators, and just three goals and four points in 13 games at minor-league Binghamton.

He has 12 goals and 36 points in 170 games since the Senators spent their first draft pick - and the 17th overall selection - on the Edmonton Oil Kings forward three years ago.

Chosen to be a top-six contributor for many seasons, Lazar has instead offered 0.80 points per 60 minutes at five-on-five. There's merely a handful of active players, essentially each stone-handed checkers, producing at a similarly meager rate.

Still, teams have apparently inquired about his status in the trade market. It raises the question: What could the Senators possibly receive in return?

It's hard to pinpoint a comparable, because he's hardly formed an NHL identity. His stats compare to players he isn't billed to be, and his development seems stunted by the negligible ice time he's logged - which has fallen to just over eight minutes a night under Boucher.

But if we base his value on the market, an inference can be made from the Edmonton Oilers' extrication of the quintessential draft bust in the salary-cap era: Nail Yakupov.

The Oilers accepted a conditional third-round pick and a warm body in a trade with the St. Louis Blues for the former first overall draft selection. Their return will be upgraded to a second-round draft selection if Yakupov scores 15 goals this year.

He's got three.

Even still, Yakupov has twice as many goals, as well as almost double the points Lazar has mustered, in the 170 NHL games they've each played across the last three seasons.

Though Edmonton's desire to cut bait certainly factored into the return for Yakupov, the deal suggests that Lazar's current market value isn't anything greater than a late-round pick.

If the Senators are offered a deal comparable to the Yakupov trade, they might be wise to jump at it. But because Lazar has little value, less leverage, and many seasons of control, it's hard to imagine a scenario where he's dealt before the March 1 deadline.