It’s become somewhat of an annual tradition for fans across the NHL to debate whether Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki is a true “1C.”
In a poll of 6,278 responders conducted by JFreshHockey on Twitter/X, the splits for the question of “Is Suzuki a legit No. 1 centre on a Cup contender?” were as follows:
- 34.0% for “Habs fan saying ‘yes.'”
- 1.9% for “Habs fan saying ‘no.'”
- 37.7% for “Non-Habs fan saying ‘yes.'”
- 26.4% for “Non-Habs fan saying ‘no.'”
A large majority of Canadiens fans view Suzuki as a true 1C. The average hockey fan agrees (well, at least those who responded), although there are still quite a few doubters.
While both results are in favour of Suzuki being a Stanley Cup-calibre No. 1 centre, let’s dive into the argument anyway. Why is Suzuki deserving of the 1C label, and where does he rank among the league’s best?
Suzuki’s 1C Impact
Just looking at the numbers gives you a pretty obvious indication that Suzuki is among the elite. With 24 goals and 62 assists through 71 games, he’s ninth in NHL point-scoring and just barely on pace to miss the century mark. Furthermore, he’s 10 points clear of Cole Caufield, the next-best-scoring Canadien.
Suzuki isn’t just dominating in the scoring race, though. He’s the clear frontrunner for the Selke Trophy this season, given his unmatched two-way impact on a team that fancies itself as a contender.
According to Hockey Stats, Suzuki ranks second among forwards in even-strength defensive Wins Above Replacement (WAR) and in the top 50 on the penalty kill. He has been exceptional at both ends of the ice and will probably be rewarded for that at the NHL Awards ceremony this June.
The stats make this argument pretty cut-and-dry—Suzuki is a 1C. But the eye test works heavily in his favour, too.
Montreal has the seventh-best record in the NHL, with 90 points in 71 games. That’s a level of success the team hasn’t seen since 2016–17. With that established, it says a lot about Suzuki that he is the go-to guy on every power play. Everyone on the ice wants to feed him puck touches, and that’s for a reason. The offence flows through his ability to facilitate.
Where Does Suzuki Rank Among Centres?
That brings us to the question of where Suzuki ranks among the league’s centres. Is he top 10?
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First, let’s list 10 of the best non-Suzuki centres in the league and see how he compares. This list will be subjective, but it gives us a good base: Aleksander Barkov, Macklin Celebrini, Sidney Crosby, Leon Draisaitl, Jack Eichel, Jack Hughes, Nathan MacKinnon, Auston Matthews, Connor McDavid, and Mark Scheifele.
This is a pretty exclusive group, but Suzuki is definitely in it. For one, it’s fair to take him over Scheifele. Their point production is almost identical, but defence favours the latter unequivocally. In addition, while Matthews is the more gifted player, Suzuki has been better over the last two seasons. You could even have discussions about Eichel and Hughes, though Hockey Stats’ WAR model prefers those two.
With all this in mind, Suzuki is about the eighth-best centre in the league, assuming everyone is healthy. That’s closer to a franchise centre than a “1C”—he’s leaving those debates in the dust.
All in all, the Canadiens are well-equipped to win the Stanley Cup someday with Suzuki taking on the first-line centre role. At 26 years old, his prime only recently began. He’s most definitely a 1C.
