Nick Suzuki isn’t losing any sleep over the money game in Montreal.
With NHL salaries soaring this offseason, the Canadiens have taken a different route. While other teams have handed out eye-popping contracts, Montreal has built its core around players willing to leave dollars on the table in the name of winning. Suzuki says that mindset runs through the room.
At a charity golf tournament for the Asista Foundation, TVA reporter Anthony Martineau asked Suzuki if it would bother him to see a player making $15-17 million per year land in Montreal while he earns $7.88 million. Suzuki’s answer made the team’s thinking clear.
""That's what happens when you sign a long-term deal. It's been five years now!
Times have changed. On this team, the guys just want to win.
Some have accepted less money to make it happen. That makes a difference.
And we're still making enough money to be set for life.""
Nick Suzuki
That attitude has helped shape the Canadiens’ roster construction. Ivan Demidov’s eight-year, $73.20 million extension came in well below the kind of numbers being thrown around elsewhere in the league, even though he was in the same draft class as San Jose Sharks centre Macklin Celebrini, who signed a five-year, $94 million contract. Fans had a similar reaction last summer when Montreal locked up Lane Hutson for eight years and $70.80 million.
The Canadiens’ biggest deal belongs to Noah Dobson, acquired from the New York Islanders last offseason before signing an eight-year, $76 million extension. That move drew backlash at the time because Dobson was coming off a down year, but his bounce-back season has made the contract look far better now, especially with the rest of the league inflating prices.
Montreal has managed its cap well enough that it could add a high-priced name if it wanted to, and Suzuki said he wouldn’t be bothered by that at all. For him and the Canadiens, the priority is simple: winning comes first.
The result is a roster built on buy-in. The Canadiens have already shown they’re willing to accept less to keep the group together, and Suzuki made it clear that’s not a problem if it helps chase the Stanley Cup. Montreal has been waiting since 1993, and this team seems intent on changing that by sticking together.
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