Montreal Canadiens fans are well aware of Nick Suzuki's impact on the organization. He is the steady two-way center they need at the top of the lineup and has become an increasingly important offensive force, recording career highs in points and ultimately hitting the 100-point mark this past season (29 goals and 72 assists).
A total of 101 points could very well be his ceiling, especially considering Cole Caufield's 51-goal breakout on his wing. Suzuki was very valuable to the Canadiens in their run to the Eastern Conference Final, and despite finishing fifth in Hart Trophy voting, he was still 1334 points behind the eventual winner, Nikita Kucherov.
It's not a hard argument to make that a player who finished fifth in MVP voting, sixth in total points, played for Team Canada at the Olympics, and was the No. 1 center on one of the best teams in the league is already one of the elite centers in the Eastern Conference. However, some experts still struggle to believe that Suzuki can do it on his own, citing that he may need a 1A/1B center situation for the Canadiens to thrive.
While the Habs do need to bolster their depth down the middle, Suzuki is more than capable of leading the team. People need to start believing that he is one of the NHL's elite centers, but there are a couple of things that could put him in an entirely different category in franchise history.
Nick Suzuki's next step as Canadiens' captain
In order for Suzuki to get a bit more respect around the league, he'll eventually need to start accomplishing some things as the leader of the team. In his defense, the Canadiens are finally entering a contending window after rebuilding for most of his time with the team, and their first real chance at it went pretty well with the trip to the Eastern Conference Final last season. He was also part of the 2021 run to the Stanley Cup Final.
A Canadian team hasn't won the Stanley Cup since 1993, and the Canadiens are one of the teams best positioned to break that drought. If he can find a way to impress the voters even more in the Hart Trophy race, he could also become the first Montreal player to win the award since 1978. If Suzuki can put together a season where he checks a few of those boxes, he'll have no worries about respect.
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