Montreal Canadiens' captain Nick Suzuki made history on Thursday night, but it went largely unnoticed thanks to linemate Cole Caufield scoring his 50th goal of the season.
While the spotlight was on Montreal Canadiens’ sniper Cole Caufield on Thursday night as he scored his 50th goal of the season, captain Nick Suzuki also made history. With the two assists he picked up on Thursday, he became the highest-scoring captain in a single season with the Canadiens with 98 points.
Pierre Turgeon previously held that title with 96 points in 1995-96. With his 98 points, Suzuki now has the 11th most productive season in franchise history. It would take quite a hot streak for him to move into 10th place since Steve Shutt and Pete Mahovlich hold it with 105 points.
Still with three games to play against the Columbus Blue Jackets, the New York Islanders, and the Philadelphia Flyers, it’s highly likely that he’ll be able to reach the 100-point mark. That hasn’t happened in Montreal since Mats Naslund reached the milestone in 1985-86.
Now that Caufield has reached the 50-goal milestone, and Juraj Slafkovsky has scored 30 goals, the spotlight can shift to the Habs captain trying to reach his own milestone. As things stand, he’s tied in seventh place in the league’s scoring race with Martin Necas. The last time a Hab was in the top 10 in scoring was also in 1985-86 when Naslund finished the year with 110 points.
Even though Suzuki is unlikely to match Naslund’s output, the contribution he brings to the Habs goes way beyond just his points production. The captain plays an intelligent game and is fully committed to team play. He’s so responsible on both sides of the puck that he will certainly get a lot of votes for the Frank J. Selke Trophy, especially after having been praised by Tampa Lightning coach Jon Cooper at the Olympics. It made other markets take notice of what the pivot can do.
However, his candidacy may be hurt by the fact that he’s not playing on the penalty kill regularly. It’s not that he can’t do it, though; it’s just that Martin St-Louis likes to spread responsibilities between his men. Since his captain already spends so much time on the ice at even strength and on the power play, it’s perfectly understandable.
Whatever happens, though, Suzuki will still be able to say that he’s the highest-scoring Canadiens’ captain in history, and that’s no small feat.
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