Nick Suzuki’s rise in Montreal has reached the point where the Hall of Fame conversation is no longer out of place.
That’s the kind of leap the Canadiens captain made last season, when he piled up his first 100-point campaign and won the Selke Trophy. For a franchise that had gone without a player in The Athletic’s Hockey Hall of Fame projection list in 2024 and 2025, Suzuki’s arrival in the tier labeled “Check back in a few years” marks a notable shift.
The list includes names such as Sebastian Aho, Evan Bouchard, Rasmus Dahlin and Jason Robertson, which gives a sense of where Suzuki stands: in the mix, but still with plenty of proving left to do.
His case got a major boost over the past season. Suzuki was in his fourth year as captain and had already been driving the Canadiens in scoring during that span, but this was the first season he earned broad league-wide recognition as one of the better players in the NHL.
The 100-point mark was a new peak, and the Selke win carried added weight for Montreal. It was the first time since Guy Carbonneau won in 1992 that the Canadiens had a player take home the trophy named for Frank Selke, who served as the team’s general manager from 1946 through 1964.
Suzuki’s value was even more obvious in the playoffs. Montreal went deeper than it had since 2021, when it reached the Stanley Cup Final, and Suzuki led the way as the team’s best skater with 16 points in 19 playoff games.
That’s why his inclusion this summer wasn’t a shock. It’s also why the next part matters more than the first.
The note attached to his spot is simple: this is a strong start, not a finish line. Suzuki has gotten better every season in Montreal, and now the challenge is to keep stacking years like this one if he wants to build a Hall of Fame résumé.
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Canadiens Blue Line Logjam Just Cost Them Another Young Defenseman
The Canadiens defensive depth has become one of the more persistent talking points around the organization, and William Trudeaus latest move is another sign of how crowded that lane has become. After several seasons with the Laval Rocket and only limited NHL opportunities in Montreal, the former Canadiens defenseman has moved on to the New York Rangers organization, where he sees a clearer path to the league.
Trudeau said the depth chart in Montreal was part of the equation, even as he spoke respectfully about his time with both the Canadiens and Laval. For a young blue-liner trying to turn steady development into an NHL look, the appeal of a fresh start is obvious, and his departure adds one more name to the list of prospects who found the road blocked before it ever really opened. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Face A Big Bolduc Decision Next To Suzuki And Caufield
Zachary Bolducs first season with the Canadiens offered both encouragement and frustration, which is usually how these things go when a player is trying to establish himself in Montreal. Acquired from the St. Louis Blues, he opened fast enough to make people notice, then settled into a more uneven stretch as the year wore on, with his production cooling off and his role shrinking at times.
Still, Bolducs playoff play gave the Canadiens something to think about going into next season, especially with the possibility of him being asked to skate in a far more prominent spot alongside Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. For a team looking to sort out the best version of its top end, his progress in the spring matters almost as much as the uneven regular season that came before it. [Read more 🡒]
Kent Hughes May Be Ending The Canadiens Quiet Summer Soon
The Canadiens have spent much of late summer in a holding pattern, but that quiet stretch may be nearing an end. Montreal is expected to make at least one official announcement soon, and the buzz around the team has centered on Kent Hughes possibly closing the book on a relatively uneventful offseason with a late move or roster update.
The exact nature of the news remains unclear, with no confirmations yet from the club. Still, sources indicate something could break early in the week, giving Canadiens fans a fresh point of attention before the calendar turns fully toward the next phase of team business. [Read more 🡒]