NHL Entry Draft and free agent frenzy completed, the dog days of summer wear on as NHL management groups take a bit of a breather before the training camps begin. In this series, I will try to investigate every Montreal Canadiens roster player, recap their last season and look ahead to this upcoming season. I will look at their place in the organization, their role and their possible impact.
Related: Montreal Canadiens: 3 Burning Questions Heading Into 2025-26 Season
In the next step of the series, I will move on to looking at the Canadiens’ forward group, starting with Nick Suzuki.
2024-25 Season Recap
Every season, Suzuki has improved. Every. Season.
And the 2024-25 season was no different. Suzuki had a breakout year; the last season saw him post 30 goals and 59 assists (career high) for 89 points, and nine of his goals were game-winners, leading the team in that category. This means he has become the highest-scoring Canadiens’ player in a single season to this point in the 21st century. He is also the first point-per-game player since Alex Kovalev had 84 points in the 2007-08 season. For the fourth straight season, the London, ON native played in all 82 games, extending his ironman streak to 455 games. The 25-year-old reached the 200-assist, 300-point and 400-game milestones over the course of the year. Suzuki’s snub from the 4 Nations Face-Off was a conversation point for the fans and media alike, but it may have been the jet fuel that fired his season up. But it gave him an opportunity to rest and recover from any bumps and bruises to come out of the gate flying.
A big reason for Montreal’s turnaround this season was the dynamic play and leadership of Suzuki, especially after the 4 Nations Face-Off. In Montreal’s 26 games after the NHL season resumed following the tournament, the London, Ontario native recorded 37 points. The Canadiens’ earning their first playoff berth since 2021 can be directly attributed to the captain. In a meeting with general manager (GM) Kent Hughes, Suzuki asked that the Canadiens not be a seller. Hughes challenged him to do what needed to be done before the deadline and get the team into a playoff position after the 4 Nations Face-Off.
“It’s on your shoulders, but don’t come here to tell me not to make any trades if you aren’t doing what you need to do. And they won five straight games after that conversation, and I think Nick recorded 13 points in five games. So, we were happy to see that, but I was also happy to see Nick step up as captain and see how he reacted, rather than Nick [as a player] on the team.”
While he was the only captain of an Atlantic Division team not present at the tournament, he did show the hockey world what he can do, and that was not only have a second consecutive 30-goal season, but also lead an underdog team into the playoffs. Unfortunately, the club lost in five games to the Washington Capitals in the opening round, but it did give the NHL’s second-youngest team (on average) that season invaluable playoff experience to build upon.
2025-26 Season Expectations
Suzuki is the leader of a young core and someone who sets an example to follow, much like Shea Weber had done before him, as he lets his play do the talking. Suzuki has quietly been one of the NHL’s most competitive players and has proven he can lift a team onto his shoulders and carry them to their set goals. His challenge for the 2025-26 season is now not just to make the playoffs, but to do so without any other NHL teams taking them lightly.
As a player who has improved in every season of his career so far, the expectation is that he will continue. He will be relied upon to play error-free, two-way hockey, but also continue to be a centre that wins key faceoffs, which he won at a rate of 51.6% last season. With Christian Dvorak taking his team-leading faceoff rates to the Philadelphia Flyers, this area will be an underappreciated aspect of his game that will need to see improvement. With yet another strong season and a proven track record in the playoffs, Suzuki has begun to find some respect amongst the NHL executives as he now joins his Canadiens’ teammates, Samuel Montembeault and Noah Dobson, as invitees to the Team Canada Olympic camp. But to cement himself on Canada’s roster, his point totals will need to go up. Will it be 100 points? It is possible.
What changes the game for Suzuki isn’t giving him new linemates; those will remain unchanged. It’s the depth added to the lineup. With the additions of Ivan Demidov and Zachary Bolduc, as well as a healthy Patrik Laine, opposing teams will need to game plan for not just Suzuki’s line, but at least one more offensively threatening line, meaning more opportunities at five-on-five for Suzuki. Not only that, the addition of Noah Dobson to this lineup also adds significant options on the power play (PP) that can make things easier offensively for the team captain as well.
The combination of his high-end hockey IQ, relentless work ethic, and now depth offence with a lethal power play unit has created the perfect storm that can allow him to hit new career highs in goals and points, possibly even become the first 100-point Canadiens skater since Mats Naslund had 110 in the 1985-86 season.
