Recording one goal, 48 hits, 14 blocked shots and two fights, the 6-foot-1, 204-pound defenseman showed an ability to play the hard-nosed style of hockey Head Coach John Hynes has been making his squad known for.
"This was the first time that I felt like my physicality was something the team wanted, and I like to play on the edge and I feel like there's a lot of guys on the team that like to play the same kind of hockey as me, so it's been great," Lauzon said. "Coach Hynes loves that kind of player and it's the identity of the Nashville Predators, to be hard to play against, and we want the opposing team to know that we're coming for them every single night, so I think it's a great fit for me."
That fit to the Preds identity made the Val-d'Or, Quebec native appealing to Poile at the trade deadline, and his performance throughout those 13 games - and three more during the postseason - certainly didn't hurt Lauzon in earning a more permanent spot in Nashville's lineup.
Now, as Hynes and his coaching staff continue to develop their influx of talented, young players, Lauzon, 25, is looking forward to the opportunity to start from square one.
"I know I have a job to do for the next four years, and just being able to level up each and every day, trying to be a better hockey player and be a better player for the team and trying to help the team go the right way," Lauzon said. "I think we have a solid group and being able to be a part of that group and being able to help that group going forward is something that's excited me a lot."
Lauzon is also excited to be playing in front of the raucous Bridgestone Arena crowd - an environment that has notably been both the envy of the hockey world and a challenge for visiting clubs.
"It's massive," he said. "Especially the last couple years with COVID, we played in empty buildings, so to be able to have fans in the stands again gives us so much energy and even more so when it's at Bridgestone because the fans are so loud, and so into the game and they love hockey in Nashville. I didn't realize that because I was playing out west and east. I hadn't played a lot of games at Bridgestone, but the first couple of games I was playing for the home team with the Preds I felt it and it was special and it just helps us so much."
With an appearance in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs not going the way the Predators had hoped, Lauzon says he and his teammates are determined to give those fans the performance they know they can deliver.
"I think we didn't show what we could have in the playoffs," he said. "That was disappointing, but I think if you look at the beginning of the year… not a lot of people were putting the Predators in a playoff spot, and as a group we were able to do that. So, I think it's just exciting for the future. We know we're a good group and we know we're capable of way more in the playoffs. So, it's going to be our time to prove it."
