Canadiens Captain Wants Team to be Competitive

The Montreal Canadiens' captain voiced his hopes for the upcoming season in a recent interview.

Apr 6, 2024; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens forward Nick Suzuki (14) plays the puck during the third period of the game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images / Eric Bolte-Imagn Images

The Montreal Canadiens have been rebuilding for a while now., basically the entire time Nick Suzuki has been with the franchise. The last time they won 40 games or more was during the 2018-2019 season.

That Canadiens team is a thing of the past. The new core is in place as Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky lead the Habs towards their first playoff birth since the 2020-2021 season.

Since Suzuki arrived in Montreal as part of the trade for Max Pacioretty, he's endured mostly losing. With the exception of the Stanley Cup Finals run during the COVID-19 shortened 2020-2021 season, it's been a string of disappointing seasons.

Despite that, the 25 year-old forward has endeared himself to his locker room, the Canadiens' organization, and fanbase. With a long-term contract in place and some reinforcements brought in this summer. Suzuki is hoping this year can be the one that turns things around for his team.

Suzuki recently spoke with Stu Cowan of The Montreal Gazette. One of the most interesting parts of their conversation was when Suzuki made his expectations for the season clear: he doesn't want the team to be a seller this year.

“I’m a competitive guy,” he stated. “I don’t want to be sellers at the (trade) deadline. It’s been tough to be in that position the last couple of years. You want to win as many games as possible, but management might see it a different way and try to make moves for the team for the future."

As the leader of the Canadiens, Suzuki also knows that there is only so much they can control. It starts with how they perform on the ice, and he acknowledged the task is to get better every day and hopefully that translates on the ice.

"For us players, it’s about focusing on the present," he said. "You can’t really control what’s going to happen and what their (management) mindset is. So just take it day by day and win as many games as possible."

With the addition of scorer Patrik Laine, the Canadiens have one of the deepest forward groups on paper in recent memory. It's a big step for the Habs, as their defensive play last season was promising. If they can put it all together, the Canadiens might make good on Suzuki's wish and be competitve at the trade deadline and beyond.

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