Once upon a time, the Montreal Canadiens were all about Carey Price's goaltending; those days are long gone. Now, the Canadiens have a great attack that's improving by the season...
For years now, Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki has sat atop the Habs’ scoring rankings. For the last five seasons, Suzuki has led the way, culminating in a 101-point season in 2025-26. Will he keep the lead this season?
Back in 2021-22, he led the team with 61 points in 82 games, an 18-point lead on Cole Caufield, who had 43 points in just 67 games (that was the year he was sent down to the AHL when Dominique Ducharme was still in charge). In 2022-23, He put up 66 points in 82 games, a 28-point lead on Kirby Dach, who had posted 38 points in 58 games and a 30-point lead on Caufield, who had 36 points in just 46 games (that was the year he had shoulder surgery).
Then, in 2023-24, Suzuki broke the 70-point barrier, putting up 77 points in 82 games, a 12-point lead over Caufield, who had 65 points in 82 games. In 2024-25, the captain had 89 points in 82 games, his first season as a more than a point-per-game player. Caufield was once again in second place that year with 70 points, his first 70-point season, trailing the captain by 19 points.
Finally, this past season, Suzuki had a 13-point lead at the top. He had 101 points while Caufield picked up 88 points. That was the sniper’s first 80-plus point season, and of course, his first 50-goal season. While the captain still had a sizeable lead over the Habs’ goal-scoring machine, it’s worth mentioning that Caufield has been improving by leaps and bounds as well.
If the Canadiens can improve their top six, Suzuki’s like may get a bit less attention, which would allow him to keep improving his stats, but if they can’t, the centerman might struggle to reach a new high. Meanwhile, Caufield’s upward trajectory may very well continue. However, since they are more or less a double act, they tend to be involved in each other’s points, which makes it tricky for Caufield to catch up.
There might be some movement lower down the rankings, though. For the last two seasons, Lane Hutson has claimed third place with seasons of 66 and 78 points, but Juraj Slafkovsky is slowly coming into his own as well. He finished the last campaign with 73 points, up from 51 points the year before; that was a breakthrough year, a 22-point increase. There’s no reason to think he won’t keep improving this year, especially now that he has realized he can be more than just a complementary piece for the Caufield-Suzuki duo. Hutson himself should also keep rocketing up the standings; he was only trailing Caufield by 10 points last season, and that was with a slow start, which was perturbed by contract talks.
Ivan Demidov will also be a player to watch; he posted 62 points in 82 games, and it felt like he had a bit of a breakthrough in the playoffs. He took his game to another level in the postseason’s raised intensity. With a new contract already in his back pocket, the Russian wonder will be able to focus on hockey, and chances are he’ll have increased production as well, even if the Canadiens don’t bring in outside reinforcement for the second line. Should he line up with Alex Newhook and Oliver Kapanen again and the Newfoundlander remain healthy, the increased stability could be hopeful. It’s also quite possible that Martin St-Louis gives him a shot on the top line, now that he has a full year of experience.
For now, Suzuki may be safe at the top, but there are more pretenders to the team’s scoring title every year, and it shows just how healthy the Canadiens’ offense finally is. Chances are former Hab goaltender Carey Price is looking at the Habs’ players’ production and wondering why he couldn’t get that kind of support back in the day.
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