On Sunday, the NHL Network will release its list of the top 20 centers in the NHL right now, and after seeing one of their players make the first three rankings, it is likely the Montreal Canadiens will also be represented on this fourth and final list. Cole Caufield was named the ninth-best winger, Lane Hutson the sixth-best defenseman, and Jakub Dobes the 10th-best goaltender. Where will Nick Suzuki rank on the best center list? We’ll have the final answer on Sunday night, but for now, let’s have a look at where he should land.
Last year, Suzuki ranked 10th, and when he entered the conversation ahead of the 2024 season, he was 16th. Needless to say, he should carry on climbing the rankings this season.
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It’s been a fantastic season for the Canadiens’ captain, who not only broke the 100-point barrier with 101 points but also won his first major NHL award when he claimed the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the league’s top defensive winger. He was the first choice for the award on 151 of 198 ballots and a top-five pick for 191 of the voters. He received a total of 1,726 voting points, a 1,259-point lead over his closest rival, Anthony Cirelli, who had 467 points.
From a pure point-production standpoint, Suzuki was fifth amongst all centers last year, trailing only Connor McDavid (138 points), Nathan MacKinnon (127 points), Macklin Celebrini (115 points), and Mark Scheifele (103 points). However, Suzuki is more than points on the scoresheet for the Canadiens. This past season, he ranked sixth in the NHL in faceoffs taken with 1,449, or 32.2% of all Habs faceoffs, and when he was on the ice, the Sainte-Flanelle outshot its opponent 94-58. His contribution is so valuable to the Canadiens that he finished fifth in Hart Trophy voting, earning one first-place vote, 19 fourth-place votes, and 35 fifth-place votes for 102 points. He was light-years away from first place (Nikita Kucherov with 1,436 points), but those votes show how well regarded he is in the NHL.
Even though he failed to make the cut for the 4 Nations Face-Off roster, Suzuki’s performance in the last two seasons forced Hockey Canada to bring him to the Milano Cortina Olympics, where he showed the rest of the NHL what he could actually do.
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Last season, McDavid, MacKinnon, Leon Draisaitl, Aleksander Barkov, Sidney Crosby, Jack Eichel, Auston Matthews, Brayden Point, and Mark Scheifele all finished ahead of Suzuki in the top-20 centers rankings, but that should change this season. For one, Barkov didn’t play a single game last season after suffering a serious knee injury, tearing both his ACL and MCL. Point also missed just under 20 games and saw his scoring drop from 82 to 50 points. Matthews’ scoring also dropped significantly, from 78 points to 53, as he played only 60 games and couldn’t lead his Toronto Maple Leafs to the playoffs. As for Crosby, he could only muster 74 points ( in 68 games), his lowest total since the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season (62 points in 55 games). In other words, there is room for Suzuki to climb up a few spots in the rankings.
Based on last season’s results, it would make sense for Suzuki to make his way into the top five, behind McDavid, MacKinnon, Celebrini, and Draisaitl, who put up 97 points in just 65 games. We’ll find out on Sunday at 7:00 PM if NHL Network agrees with our assessment.
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