Nick Suzuki’s ironman run has hit a brutal pause, and the Canadiens are suddenly staring at a hole they can’t ignore.
Montreal announced that its captain and top scorer will be out two to four weeks with an upper-body injury. The exact nature of the issue hasn’t been revealed, but the timing is awful for a team that leans heavily on Suzuki every night.
Through nine games, the 27-year-old center has been the Canadiens’ most productive player with 12 points, including five goals and seven assists, plus a +6 rating. He’s also been the heartbeat of Montreal’s top line with Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky, a trio that has driven a big chunk of the club’s offense.
Now that engine is off the ice, and the Canadiens have to scramble.
Lane Hutson is next on the scoring list with nine points, but no other forward is close to Suzuki. Caufield has eight, Slafkovsky has seven, Alex Newhook has four points in nine games and a -5 rating, Phillip Danault has two, and Oliver Kapanen has yet to record a point since returning two games ago.
Montreal had already called up Owen Beck just moments before the injury news broke, a move that suddenly carries a lot more weight even though nothing has been confirmed about the roster change.
Martin St. Louis will now have to rethink his center depth on the fly, and the loss lands hard on a Canadiens team sitting at 4-3-2 and averaging 3.3 goals per game. Suzuki’s absence puts real pressure on an offense that has relied on him to set the tone.
For Kent Hughes, it only sharpens the need for help down the middle. Dylan Larkin and Mark Scheifele are back in the conversation, though Larkin still has no interest in coming to Montreal.
The injury situation around the team is getting crowded, too. Ivan Demidov, Florian Xhekaj and Samuel Montembeault are already sidelined, Mike Matheson is day-to-day, and the list keeps growing.
The Canadiens open a four-game road trip Friday in Chicago without their captain, and the rest of the roster will have to answer the question Suzuki leaves behind: who picks up the slack now?
In Other News...
Canadiens Prospect Alexander Zharovsky Just Gave Fans Another Reason To Wait
Alexander Zharovsky continues to give Canadiens fans a reason to keep an eye on the KHL box scores. The 19-year-old forward, who is still developing in Russia with Salavat Yulaev Ufa, was part of a recent comeback win over Metallurg Magnitogorsk and has remained one of the more intriguing young talents in Montreals pipeline after a record-setting rookie season.
The start to this season has been a little uneven, but that is part of the patient plan the Canadiens have in place for him. Rather than rush him toward North America, Montreal is letting Zharovsky handle the ups and downs of a full KHL campaign, hoping the long view pays off when he is ready to make the next jump. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Still Loom In A Trade Situation That May Not Be Closed
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For the Canadiens, the key part is what is not yet there. Montreal is not on Larkins current 10-team list, which does not shut the door on future interest but does keep the club on the outside for now. Elsewhere, Pittsburghs situation bears watching too, since a tougher stretch could trigger a larger sell-off as management operates under a tight budget, leaving this as one of those leaguewide trade stories that could still change shape before it finally settles. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Suddenly Face A Brutal Test Without Their Captain
Nick Suzukis absence is the kind of development that changes the feel of a roster immediately. The Canadiens captain is dealing with an upper-body injury that will keep him out for 2-4 weeks, and with that comes the end of his remarkable run of 546 consecutive games. It is the sort of stretch that underscores how central Suzuki has become to Montreal, not just as its top center but as the steadying presence the team has leaned on through so much of its recent progress.
For the Canadiens, the next few weeks now become a test of depth and adaptability. Montreal has already moved to bring up Owen Beck from AHL Laval, a sign that the club is preparing to reshuffle responsibilities quickly while Suzuki recovers. However the lines are arranged, the larger challenge is obvious: replacing a captain who touches so many parts of the game is never as simple as plugging in one player and moving on. [Read more 🡒]