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Happy 26th Birthday to Captain Suzuki

Originally posted on The Sick Podcast | By Nick Lariviere | Last updated Aug 10, 2025 12:12 PM ET

Today is Captain Nick Suzuki’s 26th birthday, which means today is a great day to discuss just how great of a player he has been for the Canadiens. At just 26 years old, the captain is officially entering his prime and could still get better over the next few seasons.

It’s hard to believe that Suzuki is just entering his prime years as he’s already had such an amazing career with the Canadiens, from gaining experience from a Stanley Cup run in 2021 to putting the Habs on his back last season to help them sneak into a playoff spot, like a true team captain should do. Suzuki has a better resume than any player not named Carey Price on the Habs in the last 25 years. The way he handles pressure makes it seem Suzuki was born to be the Habs captain, he’s just so poised, calm and never lets what is said about him get to his head.

Suzuki immediately made an impact on the team as a rookie and has since become one of the top 15 centres in all of hockey since his debut during the 2019-20 season. He has also managed to improve every season in the point total department, which allowed him to become the first Hab to surpass the point per game mark over a full season since Alex Kovalev back in 2007-08. Can Suzuki potentially become the first Habs player to get 100+ points in a season since Mats Naslund in the 1985-86 season?

Stu Cowan: "I think this season we see Nick Suzuki become a 100-point player!"

Full podhttps://t.co/CChHll8JeH #GoHabsGo #thesickpodcast @MatthewOhayon @StuCowan1 pic.twitter.com/RFD7HMDYlY
— The Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro (@thesickpodcasts) August 9, 2025

This seems to be a tall task, but with the way the Habs centre keeps progressing it isn’t that far-fetched. Stu Cowan mentioned on Friday night’s episode of the Sick Podcast that he believes Suzuki breaks the 100-point mark as soon as this season.

Honestly, while I could see Suzuki eventually hitting 100 points, this upcoming season still feels a bit too soon, as I believe that if it does happen, it will be when the Habs are true Cup contenders and more players around Suzuki have officially broken out.

While Ivan Demidov is incredibly skilled, his rookie season likely will have many challenges as it will be the first time he plays 82 games in a season, not to mention it’s on a smaller rink than he used to back in Russia. For Suzuki to hit the 100-point plateau, he will need the best version of Demidov feedi ng him and finishing his plays on the power-play to get there.

Even if Suzuki hits 100 points in a season, I can’t see it being his norm as he’s always projected to be an 85-90 point two-way centre at his best. Nonetheless, things getting better each year of his career makes me wonder if he will ever stop growing as a player. This is why I firmly believe that around his age 28 or 29 season, he will eventually hit that 100-point plateau. However, it just seems that next season is too early for that to happen.

I do think Suzuki will find his way in the 90-point range next season as he continues to solidify his game as one of the best two-way forwards. It wouldn’t surprise me that he ends up as a Selke Finalist next season as he leads the Habs to a better season.

The era of Habs hockey is looking like the most exciting the team has had since they last won the Stanley Cup in 1993, and Suzuki will be at the centre of it. For next season, I predict Suzuki will register 31 goals and 62 assists for 93 points in 82 games.

Happy Birthday once again, Nick! We can’t wait to see what you’ll do with the Habs next season as the team keeps improving.

How many points are you predicting for Nick Suzuki during the 2025-26 season?

This article first appeared on The Sick Podcast and was syndicated with permission.

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