Nick Suzuki and the Montreal Canadiens made their return to the postseason for the first time since 2020-21 last year, and they’re ready for that to become the norm moving forward.
The young core of Suzuki, Caufield, and Slafkovsky was accompanied by Calder Trophy winner Lane Hutson and highly touted prospect Ivan Demidov, helping them make a late-season push for a wild-card spot. Montreal put up a respectable fight but was ultimately eliminated in the first round by the number one-seeded Washington Capitals in five games.
While getting back to the playoffs was nice, the Habs aren’t satisfied, and with the offseason additions of Noah Dobson and Zack Bolduc, Suzuki and company have their eyes set on something much bigger. Here was what the captain had to say to the media in a video shared by RDS on Thursday at the Asista Foundation golf tournament.
“Expectations are going to grow. We know that, and that’s fine with us. We all want the same goal at the end of the day. We want to be challenging for the Stanley Cup. From now on, that’s pretty much going to be our goal,” Suzuki said.
The 25-year-old was fantastic in 2024-25, tallying a career-high 89 points (30 goals, 59 assists) in 82 games while being relied upon in all facets of the game by head coach Martin St. Louis.
Suzuki is also shooting to make Team Canada
While Nick Suzuki’s number one goal and priority is for the Montreal Canadiens to compete for the Stanley Cup, earning a spot on Team Canada’s 2026 Winter Olympic roster is a close second.
Suzuki did not make the 4 Nations team but believes he has a good chance at flipping the script this time around.
“I think I have a pretty good chance. Given the way they won the Four Nations Cup, we’re going to have to sort of fill someone’s shoes in the team. There are so many guys who think they can make a place for themselves. It’s the toughest team to break into in hockey, so I’m looking forward to the challenge,” Suzuki said.
With the way he’s played over the last several years, it’s hard to envision many better options to be a fourth-line center for Canada than Nick Suzuki.
