On Friday, Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki met with the media one last time before heading for the Summer break. Much like most of his teammates, there was nothing negative to discuss after he had a 89-point career year.
Canadiens: Hutson On His Amazing Rookie Season
Canadiens: Slafkovsky Knows What The Problem Is
Canadiens: Laine Had A Successful Year
The playoffs were a big talking point with him, and he asked about the difference between the Spring tournament and the regular-season games they played down the stretch. He explained:
In the first round, everyone gets a break and is amped up, so every team gets to prepare a lot longer for each other. So it’s a tough series, especially those first couple of games. The intensity and everything were high, and the physicality was really high, so I think we’ll be ready for that the next time we have that opportunity.- Suzuki on the playoffs.
Speaking about teammate Juraj Slafkovsky, the centerman advocated that his linemate has grown a lot as a player since joining the Canadiens, and he believes the consistency is getting there. He also reminded the media that although the Slovak has been there for three years, he’s still very young. At his age, the captain was playing his rookie season in the league. Still, he adds that Slafkovsky’s confidence is also improving, and he expects him to have a big year next season.
Asked about the Montreal market, Suzuki tipped his hat to the fans, saying they show this is the best market to play in with how the Bell Centre was in the playoffs, calling it very special and adding it’s a market “guys will want to come to”.
He confirmed he got an invite from Team Canada regarding the World Championship, but the Canadiens still need to clear him to go. He confessed that he was pretty banged up down the stretch, enough that he might have taken some rest had the Habs clinched a playoff berth sooner.
Even though he has an Iron Man streak going, he explained he wants to be able to help the team as much as he can. He would have taken that option if rest had been a way to come back stronger and more efficient. Since he joined the Canadiens as a rookie in 2019-20, he played 71 of the 80 games in that season, all 56 games of the Covid bubble season, and four complete 82-game seasons since then. That’s an impressive feat considering how tough hockey is on the body.
With the Olympics just around the corner and not having been asked to play for the 4 Nations Face-Off (he said watching the games at home sucked, but that he did use the break to get some rest and the snub was a motivating factor), it feels like Suzuki would like to go:
It’s been a dream of mine ever since I was a kid to play in the Olympics so, I’ll try to do everything I can whether or not I can play in the Worlds, I think I’ve shown what I can do as a player and really kind of took my game to a different level down the stretch and into the playoffs. If I have a good start next year, I feel like I can put my name in the hat for the team so we’ll see what happens.- Suzuki about the Olympics.
While the team’s situation was much different when he signed his contract, he’s pleased with the speed at which the rebuild is going, calling making the playoffs in its third year special. He gave the press a good chuckle, adding he hoped it wouldn’t be a seven-year rebuild given he just played the third year of his eight-year contract. He wants to “be there for the good parts,” which are coming soon.
Canadiens stories, analysis, breaking news, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News, never to miss a story.
Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.
Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.