The Nashville predators has finally owned the Race by signing a veteran star player from….

Jeremy Lauzon is the NHL’s all-time hits leader for a single season, so let’s start this list with him. With virtually little fanfare, he inked the current $2 million agreement back in June 2022.

Lauzon smashed the single season hit record for the NHL with 383 while also notching a career high 111 blocks in the biggest role he’s played in his NHL career. He and Alexandre Carrier proved to be a reliable, but unexpected duo for the Predators defense.

At the time of the 2022 offseason contract deal for Lauzon, the length was called into question. A lot of time to commit to an unproven defenseman like Lauzon, but to his credit, he has realy improved his all-around game since then and outperformed his current contract.

Lauzon even flashed a little offense with 14 points and a career high 103 shots on goal. Among Predators defensemen, Lauzon was second on the team in shots on goal, only trailing Roman Josi.

With two years left, Lauzon has more time to elevate his game and eventually persuade Trotz and to sign him to another similar deal, and probably even a decent raise. For now, it’s a sweet bargain for Trotz to have this hard-hitting enforcer on his roster.