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Stéphane Waite predicts 40 goals for Nick Suzuki
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In 2025–26, the Montreal Canadiens had a great season, especially when you look at the individual achievements of several players.

Cole Caufield scored 51 goals, Nick Suzuki tallied 101 points, Juraj Slafkovsky scored 30 goals, and Lane Hutson found the back of the net 78 times.

These are already excellent overall performances.

However, one can certainly wonder whether all these feats will be repeated—or whether new milestones will even be reached.

Former Habs goaltending coach Stéphane Waite has made two bold predictions.

According to him, the captain will score 40 goals and Zachary Bolduc will score 25.

I really like his predictions, even if they could be classified as “hot takes.”

For starters, the fact that Suzuki scored 30 goals—on top of his 101 points—is very impressive. If he can boost his goal total to 40, that would be more than ideal.

What's more, Waite added to this prediction by saying that Suzuki is the Tricolore's Peter Stastny. Wow.

Not only does he believe the captain will set a personal best in goals, but he also thinks the young Bolduc will score no fewer than 25 goals—up from just 12 last year.

Waite mentions that he loves this player, and he means every word.

As we know, Bolduc has an excellent wrist shot—probably the best after Cole Caufield. He has what it takes to light the red lamp that many times.

Furthermore, Waite points out that if Bolduc extends his contract with the Habs, he'll obviously have a new deal in hand and will also have completed his transition year with his new team.

He'll be more comfortable, and if he gets his chance alongside Ivan Demidov on the second line, it can only be beneficial for the Quebec native.

If he plays frequently on the second line right from the start of the season, he could indeed reach that impressive milestone. The question is rather: will he?

We'll see…


In a Nutshell

– I think we can expect another 50-goal season from #13.

Well.

– An Oilers–Senators game in Germany would be very interesting (Leon Draisaitl vs. Tim Stützle).

– Another Quebecer is joining the ranks in Europe.

This article first appeared on Dose.ca and was syndicated with permission.

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