Canadiens Ought to Consider Vegas’ Jeremy Lauzon as a Defensive Fit

The Montreal Canadiens’ offseason priorities are expected to begin up front, with general manager Kent Hughes searching for help at second-line center. But one recent take from Yahoo Sports also points Montreal toward the blue line, specifically Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Jeremy Lauzon, describing him as a potential match for what coach Martin St-Louis wants from his defensive group. The argument is straightforward: if the Canadiens’ forward acquisitions create the best-case scenario for their next playoff push, the blueline still needs a more imposing and reliable presence to play meaningful minutes and accept physical matchups.

Lauzon’s profile is notable because he has been used as a physical defenseman in Vegas’ plans. In their coverage of roster changes for 2025-26, the Golden Knights described him as a hard-hitting option who gives them a more rugged defensive posture. Vegas also has a clear reason to consider him part of its short list of controllable identity pieces after acquiring him in June 2025 from the Nashville Predators. In that deal, Vegas sent Nicolas Hague and a conditional third-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft back to Nashville.

From Montreal’s side, the case for Lauzon also rests on reported concerns about how the Canadiens have managed their own physical depth. Yahoo Sports suggested that St-Louis does not place the same level of trust in Arber Xhekaj as some fans might assume, framing the situation as a question of usage and ice-time commitment rather than ability alone. In the 2025-26 playoffs, Xhekaj’s final appearance came on May 18, 2026, at Buffalo, when he played just 1:52 of ice time in the Canadiens’ 3-2 win.

Of course, ice time is never the full story, but it does matter when a coach is sorting role players into the lineup under playoff pressure. Xhekaj is not a pending free agent, and the Canadiens’ own contract announcements show they have invested in him for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons. That makes this conversation less about “replacing” him outright and more about Montreal potentially upgrading the physical baseline on the right pairing, the left pairing, or through a reshaped bottom-pairing rotation depending on how Hughes sees the rest of the roster fitting together.

Lauzon’s availability is the part of the conversation that is hardest to confirm without Vegas making a public decision. Yahoo Sports framed him as a pending unrestricted free agent target in its broader summer logic for Montreal. Other offseason-oriented reporting has also floated the idea that Vegas could face a market decision involving departures that include Lauzon among its unrestricted free agents. If that scenario becomes real, it would put a familiar trade-and-sign question in front of Hughes: how much Montreal should trade for immediate help versus how much cap and term it should preserve to avoid locking itself into the wrong defensive shape for the next playoff round.

For what to watch next, the immediate tell will be whether Montreal’s search for a second-line center leads to a corresponding spending or asset allocation on defense, or whether Hughes chooses to solve both problems with one broader roster overhaul. On the Golden Knights’ end, the next tell is whether Lauzon’s 2025-26 contract stance aligns with trade discussions, since third-party contract trackers list him through the 2025-26 season. If the two sides start negotiating publicly, expect a tight fit around Montreal’s need for physical reliability in the lower defensive minutes, not just a player who can deliver hits.