Once upon a time, there was a scrappy fellow named Ryan Reaves. The Vegas Golden Knights enforcer was well-versed in punishing his adversaries and beating people up. In fact, it got him the single-season franchise record for the most penalty minutes with 74 (2018-19). Still, he was an upstanding guy who cared deeply for his Las Vegas community (see the Battle 4 Vegas, which he participated in this summer).
But a new challenger for the penalty minute throne came along. His name? Jeremy Lauzon and he loved to hit people. We're talking about 1,383 hits during his eight-year career. The defenseman also got the occasional penalty for his scrappy play, totaling 442 penalty minutes during said eight-year career.
Lo and behold, he breaks Reaves's precious record by totaling 89 penalty minutes in 2025-26. Albeit, this isn't the most flattering record to set with the Golden Knights, although you're seeing him for six more seasons. Vegas has never had a player reach more than 100 penalty minutes in a season. Believe it or not, Lauzon hasn't achieved this either, although he came close in 2023-24 (98).
If there was ever a guy that could break his own mark, it's Lauzon. The man is well-known for beating people up and laying out vicious hits. In fact, you can say that he's more reckless on the ice than Reaves was. Mind you, that's an incredibly high bar to set, considering that Reaves fought everybody.
That begs the question of whether the defenseman can topple his own mark in 2026-27. Believe it or not, that aforementioned career-high can be broken once more. Sure, that'll rile up Golden Knights fans to another level. But that's what reality has in store for the defenseman.
There's a realistic possibility that Jeremy Lauzon breaks his own penalty minutes mark with the Golden Knights
Let's break down the science of a hockey fight, shall we? Normally, fights in the NHL are penalized for five minutes, with both parties going to the box. Mind you, there are instigator rules that apply, too. But let's look at the fighting side with Jeremy Lauzon last season for a second.
Lauzon got into seven fights in 2025-26. Four of those fights came in 2026, according to HockeyFights. That alone accounts for 35 penalty minutes for the defenseman, which is 39% of his penalty minutes in 2025-26. The most fights he's had in a single season? Eight, which came in 2023-24 with the Nashville Predators (roughly 41% of his penalty minutes).
Player | PIM | Season |
|---|---|---|
Jeremy Lauzon | 89 | 2025-26 |
Ryan Reaves | 74 | 2018-19 |
Keegan Kolesar | 68 | 2021-22 |
Keegan Kolesar | 68 | 2022-23 |
Brett Howden | 55 | 2022-23 |
Keegan Kolesar | 55 | 2025-26 |
If Lauzon adds a fight or two from that prior season's total, that'll put him in the driver's seat for his own record. We're talking about 40-45 penalty minutes, which would put him roughly at the 112-minute mark. He'd be the first Golden Knights player ever to shatter the 100-penalty minute mark in a single season.
Regardless, Lauzon has established himself as the Golden Knights' modern scrapper. It shouldn't surprise fans that he can break his own mark, especially if he sticks with his meathead ways. Whether it's popular with the fans or not is another story.
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