Two-Way Threat, Two Ways: Montreal Captain Nick Suzuki Making Leading Effort On And Off The Ice

Yahoo

09-11-2024

David Kirouac-Imagn Images
Give Nick Suzuki credit. At least he's making an effort. Still, confusing the French word for 'change' with 'trade' caused a kerfuffle when the Montreal Canadiens captain tried explaining to a Tim Hortons employee that he no longer wanted his usual drink.
'What? Suzuki was traded!'' the employee said in French, setting off an accidental chain reaction of panic throughout the restaurant that made its way to the drive-thru window, where Habs PR director, Chantal Machabee, happened to be placing her order.
'Quoi?!?' asked Machabee.
It was all part of a commercial, both poking fun – and praising – the young captain's ongoing journey to becoming fluent in French. As most Quebecois will tell you, they appreciate the attempt. And Suzuki, who has shot multiple commercials in his not-so-native tongue, is doing everything he can to fit in and win over fans as he enters his sixth year in La Belle Province. 'My French is actually pretty good,' Suzuki said at September's NHL/NHLPA Player Media Tour in Las Vegas, while Machabee smiled from a seat over. 'Obviously, it's tough to have a conversation. I'm not quite there yet. They speak pretty fast.'
Entering his third year as captain, Suzuki is proving to be a quick learner. Known more as a two-way center who can match up against the other team's best players, Suzuki showed he's a handful for defenders as well, scoring a career-best 33 goals and 77 points last season. He finished tied for 30th overall in the scoring race. But among centers, only six – Auston Matthews, Leon Draisaitl, J.T. Miller, Sidney Crosby, Steven Stamkos and Sebastian Aho – had more goals, more points and a better faceoff percentage than the 25-year-old. 'I thought it was pretty good,' he said. 'Each year, I'm trying to get better. Last year, I was really able to take both sides of the game where I wanted to be and keep growing in those positions. I think I can keep getting better.'
The Habs, who had the worst record in the Atlantic Division last year, hope to take a similar step forward. With 2022 No. 1 overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky coming off a breakout 20-goal season and the cupboard stocked with top-end prospects such as David Reinbacher, Ivan Demidov and Michael Hage, Suzuki is done talking rebuild. 'Personally, I feel like you can't just keep stockpiling prospects,' he said. 'At some point, not every prospect that you draft is going to turn into probably what you thought of him. Not everyone makes the team. The guys that do, it's our job to keep getting better.'
To that end, GM Kent Hughes sent a strong message to his team this summer when he acquired Patrik Laine from Columbus. In Laine, the Canadiens have a player with 50-goal potential. It's now up to coach Martin St-Louis, along with Suzuki, to bring out that potential after some difficult years for the 2016 draft's No. 2 overall pick.
'I was excited to get him on the team,' Suzuki said. 'Getting Patty kind of solidifies our top six and puts guys in positions to succeed, whether that be on the third or fourth line. I think we'll have four really good lines at forward and a lot of depth.'
Unfortunately for Suzuki and the Habs, that new scoring depth will be delayed after Laine sustained a knee injury in the pre-season that will keep him out until at least December.
In the meantime, Suzuki will continue to be one of the league's most versatile players. After all, how many skaters can kill penalties as well as anchor the power play? How many can play first-line minutes while also matching up against the opponent's top line? His ability to play on both sides of the puck has made him an outside candidate to grab one of the depth spots on Canada's 4 Nations Face-Off roster.
'I obviously want to be on that team,' he said, adding that there's extra motivation because Montreal is a host city for the February event. 'I've thought about it a lot. Putting on a Canadian jersey in Montreal would be pretty fun. So, hopefully, I can make that happen.
'I'm a player that can kind of be put in any situation. I can play fourth line, I can shut other guys down, play a shutdown role with my team every single night. So, yeah, I like to be put in that position. If I'm penalty killing and playing less minutes, that's fine with me. Obviously, the forwards who are already on the team are really high-end, so if I make the team, I just want to carve out a role that can help the team win.'
Though most pundits are ruling out the playoffs for Montreal this year, Suzuki isn't. It's not like his previous playoff runs were expected. As a rookie, Suzuki helped the Habs grab an unlikely post-season spot in the pandemic-shorted 2019-20 season, when they upset Pittsburgh in the best-of-five qualification round in the Toronto bubble. The next year, Montreal advanced past Toronto, Winnipeg and Vegas to earn a spot in the final – although home games were played in front of a mostly empty arena. 'I want to be in the playoffs,' Suzuki said. 'I've been in the playoffs twice now, and they haven't been under normal circumstances. So, I haven't got to play at the Bell Centre in front of a sold-out crowd. That's definitely something I'm itching for this year.'
As the French would say, 'tout est possible.'
This article appeared in the Oct. 7, 2024 edition of The Hockey News. In this edition, we turn to goaltending, putting a focus on three-time Stanley Cup champion goalie, Marc-Andre Fleury, during the final season of his NHL career. Also in this issue, we analyze which teams have the best and worst tandems in the league. In addition, we take a look at the six revealed PWHL team names and logos following the league's inaugural season.
It's available on newsstands now, or you can get it in print for free when you subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/Free today. All subscriptions include complete access to more than 76 years of articles at The Hockey News Archive.