Boston Bruins: Is Jeremy Lauzon a viable Zdeno Chara replacement?

If defenseman and captain Zdeno Chara doesn’t return to the Boston Bruins for the 2020-21 season, is Jeremy Lauzon an option to take on the veteran’s role?

The Boston Bruins still have several questions needing answers going into the 2020-21 season. One of the biggest questions is whether or not captain and veteran defenseman Zdeno Chara will be returning for a 15th season with Boston.

Yes, after 14 seasons and 1,023 regular-season games, Chara may have played his final game with the B’s.

Reports have said that there are several teams interested in bringing Chara in, but another recent report by Jimmy Murphy of Boston Hockey Now has told us that Chara won’t be making any decisions until there are a confirmed start date and format for the 2020-21 NHL season.

But of course, the Bruins have to prepare for the worst. Boston must ask, “Who can replace Zdeno Chara if he doesn’t return?”

Jeremy Lauzon is an option to replace Zdeno Chara.

It seems as though Bruins’ head coach Bruce Cassidy has already been asking himself this question.

With a recent appearance on NHL Network, Cassidy was asked who could replace Chara. The defenseman he said, Jeremy Lauzon.

Now, of course, Lauzon isn’t Chara by any means. Lauzon is just 6-foot-1 and 204 pounds, while Chara is 6-foot-9 and 250 pounds. With such a height difference, Lauzon just doesn’t have the intangible reach that Chara possesses.

However, Lauzon plays a similar game to Chara — he’s a physical defensive defenseman.

In 35 career NHL games, Lauzon has a plus/minus (+/-) of +4 and three points (two goals, one assist). Additionally, he has racked up 38 blocked shots and 47 hits.

Over 82 games, this paces out to around seven points, 89 blocks, and 110 hits. The blocks and hits projections are similar to the numbers of Chara.

Over his 35 games, Lauzon has averaged just 15:29 of ice time per game. If he does in fact take over Chara’s role, this ice time will most likely increase to around 18 minutes per game as he’ll be playing on the Black and Gold’s second defense pairing.

An increase in ice time should result in more offensive production and also an up in his blocks and hits numbers.

Overall, I think Lauzon can and will take on the role that Chara served once Chara leaves Boston. Although Lauzon doesn’t have Chara’s intangibles like his reach and rocket of a slapper, he plays a similar game to that of Chara.