Examining Marc Antoine Godin's 'greedy' comment about Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield

Arpon Basu and Marc Antoine Godin released the newest Basu & Godin Notebook podcast episode on Friday titled "Immature Effort". The title was a play on Nick Suzuki's comments about the team after their 4-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings. Basu and Godin didn't hold back on their criticisms of the team, doubling down on Suzuki's comments and sharing some of their immaturity concerns with the team.

Basu mentioned a moment he noticed from the Kings game where Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Juraj Slafkovsky were on the ice for a long shift. He complimented Lane Hutson for his leadership during that play but also turned it into a slight on the first line. Basu noticed that the first line attempted to make another breakout up the ice instead of changing, but Hutson held the puck behind the net and seemingly forced the line to change. It was a sneaky good moment that showed Hutson's maturity and hockey intelligence.

Basu's comments weren't something that jumped out to me. All players are guilty of staying on the ice too long, and it makes sense for the first line to do it in this situation. The Canadiens struggled to generate offense and the trio likely knew they'd be the best chance to score. However, Godin's comments were something I had to examine further. Godin responded to Basu by saying that he believed Caufield and Suzuki were most guilty of taking long shifts. He described Suzuki and Caufield as having a history of being "greedy" with their ice time.

Suzuki had an average shift length of 58.3 seconds against the Kings, while Caufield's was 57.7. In their previous game, Suzuki stayed on the ice for over a minute per shift, and Caufield was 57.6 seconds. The rest of the forwards are in the 45-50 range over the past two games, which is more the recommended average for forwards. Lengthy shifts have upset coaches for years, and it has to be a point of contention for seasoned professional Martin St. Louis.

Is the difference in average ice times worthy of being labeled "greedy"? It isn't surprising that they lead the team in average ice time. They are the first powerplay unit and are the team's top offensive players. With the Canadiens always chasing leads, St. Louis will put them out there in hopes of scoring, which could lead to extended offensive zone shifts. The premise of the claim is true, as Suzuki and Caufield lead the forwards in average ice time, but calling them greedy is a bit of a stretch.