Jeremy Lauzon has been known as the proverbial Vegas Golden Knights meathead. He loves getting into fights and has drawn the ire of fans with untimely penalties. In fact, those penalties have led to a dubious single-season record with the team. Of course, we're talking about the penalty minutes.
On Saturday, the defenseman had 14 penalty minutes, bumping his regular season total up to 78. That was enough to eclipse Ryan Reaves's 2018-19 record of 74. If you know anything about Reaves, it's nearly impossible to topple such a record set by a hard-hitting player.
Yet, here we are. As scrappy and gutsy as Reaves was, he was surpassed by someone who loved to fight even more. Mind you, that's a shocking revelation, given that he's well-versed in the fights department. I mean, who else would take on Matt Rempe in a brawl?
But Lauzon is different. He's not afraid to stick up for his teammates and throw the gloves down. That's how he got a misconduct penalty on Saturday, leading to the former Nashville Predator breaking the record. He also has a penchant for playing physically, as proven by his 200 hits this season.
Looking further back, he has 1,332 hits throughout his eight years in the NHL. Granted, that comes at a cost, where he gets penalties for, say, cross-checking and roughing. Plus, getting so many penalties isn't part of the Golden Knights' strategy guide. Still, it's about sticking up for your teammates and softening up your opponents.
So, congratulations, I guess? It's not the most attractive record to pursue, especially when you have Golden Knights stars like Pavel Dorofeyev chasing goal records. However, it's something that Lauzon can hang his hat on as he etches his name in team history. Or if you want to spin it that way.