Jeremy Lauzon hasn't played a game for the Nashville Predators since December 31 due to a lower-body injury that has now likely ended his 2024-25 season.
The Predators have had to constantly change up their defensive corps throughout the season, including, mostly due to trading away Alexandre Carrier and losing Dante Fabbro on waivers early on. Lauzon being out further disrupted the unit's chemistry.
Lauzon is listed as out for four to six weeks, leading right up to the end of the regular season. If he were to come back at the shorter point of his injury timetable, there would only be a week or two left in the regular season.
Lauzon out for season puts Nashville Predators further into rebuild mode
With the Predators likely about to be heavy sellers at the trade deadline, which is just two weeks away, Lauzon was coming up as a possible trade chip. His physical frame would give a presumptive playoff contender a nice boost to their blueline when you need to win a seven-game series in the trenches.
In what appears to be a fill-in for the absent Lauzon, Andreas Englund was acquired during the break off of waivers from the Los Angeles Kings. Englund describes himself as a defense-first who plays with a high level of physicality. We should see him make his Predators debut soon after the return from the break.
Englund is no newbie to the NHL scene. He's been around at some capacity since 2016-17, but has struggled to find consistent playing time on NHL level. He did play in all 82 games for the Kings in 2023-24, but saw his playing time shrink to just 11 games this current season.
Aside from Englund, nothing really changes for the Predators defensive corps from what we've already been seeing for nearly two months. Nick Blankenburg will remain a regular starter, as will Adam Wilsby and Justin Barron to go along with veterans Roman Josi, Brady Skjei and Luke Schenn.
Schenn is another player I currently have in my top-five of trade block players for the Predators coming out of the break. His contract is minimal with just one year left on it, and he has the playoff pedigree some teams will be seeking for a cheap price at the trade deadline.
Evangelista is a player to watch the rest of the way
The rest of the starting lineup looks close to being at full strength as the Predators return to the ice to host the Colorado Avalanche first. This begins a four-game slate of home games that is just a gauntlet of opponents starting with Colorado, then New Jersey, Florida and Winnipeg.
Luke Evangelista will be a boost for the offense if he's finally able to return. He missed the last three games before the break, and also missed a large chunk of January. He has just five goals on the season in 41 games after scoring 16 goals in 80 games during his rookie season in 2023-24.
With the rest of this season being about player development for 2025-26 and beyond, Evangelista is a key player to watch the rest of the way. He needs to kick his offense into a new gear to finish strong.
Wilsby is also working closer to a return, but it's unclear how far he might still be off. We'll find out when opening lines are announced for the Colorado game on Saturday. If he's not ready to come back, then Englund probably gets that slot for his team debut.
This is going to be a rag tag lineup the rest of the way. After the trade chips fall, we'll see more newcomers possibly jump in the mix. It's going to most likely mean very little structure and organization, and probably a lot more L's in the loss column.
Embrace the rebuild and hope for a top-3 draft pick. That's where I've been at since February began.