Jeremy Lauzon
Lauzon just finished his fourth season as a member of the Predators, although between everything, he has really played on the team for closer to three years. His 2024-25 campaign was cut way short after a second injury that put him on injured reserve, and unfortunately, that might be the last we see of him in gold.
Lauzon is a solid, physical defensive defenseman for the Predators, and his age is not alarming either, as he turned 28 at the end of April. Really the issue is the rest of the competition around him, and whether or not he is worth keeping for another year, which is the last remaining on his contract.
As I personally have mentioned several times, the left side of the Predators defense is a problem due alone to the sheer amount of bodies. Outside of Lauzon, Roman Josi and Brady Skjei are the veterans on large contracts, and Adam Wilsby and Tanner Molendyk are the top two prospects we want to see get their chance.
That does not even account for every left shot defenseman on the Predators, whether that be for the present or future. It is just not sustainable to have that many guys even just in the mix for roster spots, and looking at guys they can realistically move and get a real return for, Lauzon is maybe the only one.
Now to play devil's advocate in the other direction, the Predators would greatly miss his physicality if they dealt him, as well as him being the only one on currently the roster who resembles a reliable stay-at-home defenseman.
But realistically, the team will be nowhere close to a real contender in 2025-26, so just how important is it to keep Lauzon for those specific attributes, especially with his contract soon expiring? Do not be surprised if he is jettisoned sometime during the summer.