The season is fast approaching and reigning Montreal Canadiens iron man Nick Suzuki will look to improve on what was the best season of his career so far.
Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki is just coming off the best season of his young career. Centering the Canadiens top-line between sniper (turned more complete player under Martin St-Louis) Cole Caufield and sophomore Juraj Slafkovsky, the pivot notched a team leading 77 points including 33 goals, another team leading mark. His 44 assists were second only to Mike Matheson.
Continued Improvement
While there are some out there who still do not think Suzuki has what it takes to be a number one center, he is converting more people with every campaign he plays. We often hear about him not being as productive as the likes of Auston Matthews and Alexander Barkov, but the Toronto Maple Leafs center didn't pass the 100-point mark until his sixth season. In his fifth season, Barkov gathered 78 points, just one more than Suzuki in his fifth season last year. His best season came in his sixth campaign when he scored 96 points.
Let's be clear here, Suzuki's ceiling has yet to be established, but it doesn't have to be over 100 points to qualify as a number one center. Remember Boston Bruins three time all-star and six time Frank J. Selke Trophy winner Patrice Bergeron? His highest points total was 79 and it came in his 15th season. Before then, his career mark was 73 points in his sophomore season. Would anyone dare to argue he wasn't a number one center? I don't believe so. Did that prevent the Bruins from winning a Stanley Cup title? It did not. It didn't, in fact, when the Boston outfit last hoisted the Cup, their scoring leaders were David Krejci and Milan Lucic who both had 62 points, Bergeron was third with 57 points.
Ever since he got into the league, the Canadiens' captain has been steadily improving and there's no reason why that trend should stop this season. This year's improvement could materialize in the shape of additional points, but he could also improve as a defensive forward and help lift the Habs penalty kill and his faceoff winning percentage could keep going up.
Favorable Conditions
Suzuki should have some more breathing room on the ice this season, that much we know. As long as Kirby Dach remains on the ice and not in the infirmary, the Canadiens should have two potent attacking lines and even more so with Patrik Laine's arrival, providing he pans out of course.
Having a true second line should mean the top unit sees a bit less of the opponents' best defensive pairings, in theory at least. Furthermore, Laine's presence will allow the Habs to have a better second power play unit and perhaps not overwork their first line with power play shifts of a minute-30 and over.
It might result in less ice time, but it may turn into more efficient and productive ice time as well. Both of his wingers will also be a year older and should keep on improving. Caufield had a slow start to the year last season and there was a turnstile on the duo's other wing before Slafkovsky finally made the spot his own. If the trio is kept together, the chemistry should still be there.
Of course there is a possibility that after training camp experiments, St-Louis decides to put Laine on his top line, but I would think he would have had to be absolutely amazing to earn a top line spot straight out of camp. While I believe the coach will be playing around with his lineup during training camp, I see him sticking with the combination that already works to kick off the year and try to foster some chemistry on a newly formed second line.
In any case, the captain will keep on working towards reaching his ceiling this year and who knows if he will even reach it. As a leader, he'll also have to keep an eye on new teammate Laine and smooth things out there if necessary. Should the newcomer struggle in the early stages, someone will have to ensure he doesn't start feeling sorry for himself as it has been an issue for him in the past. Hopefully, as Laine said himself, he has learned some coping mechanisms in the Player Assistance Program, but it never hurts to have a safety net, someone who has your back and in a hockey team, that's often the captain's job.
