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Offensive production: “I can’t see Nick Suzuki reaching any higher than last year”

 Christopher Brown
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Offensive production: “I can’t see Nick Suzuki reaching any higher than last year”
Credit: Getty Images

In recent days, Kent Hughes has been clear: he wants to see his young core take a step forward in 2024-25. That obviously means improving defensively, but it also means improving the club’s young star forwards.

Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovský, Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook are obviously the prime suspects in all this.

But of the lot, Suzuki obviously has the most weight on his shoulders. The club’s captain and first center, who is also the highest paid (excluding Carey Price), is the one who has to be the Habs’ best forward.

Last year, his 33-goal, 77-point season impressed. The emergence of Slafkovský and his chemistry with Caufield meant he enjoyed offensive success, approaching the point-per-game plateau.

Obviously, then, many see the captain building on his momentum and once again approaching point-per-game production… but Matt Larkin(Daily Faceoff) is a little less confident. In fact, in his Fantasy Pool predictions for 2024-25, he states that he “doesn’t see Suzuki capping higher than last year”.

Larkin explains his point by saying that while Suzuki’s floor is high, the fact that he’s a player who excels at 200 feet and has a ton of responsibility means he may not have the potential to go for another gear in terms of offensive production.

And in fact, it’s not completely crazy when you consider that the captain is used for everything. In particular, he plays at a numerical disadvantage and can be seen being used in defensive roles.

On the other hand, there are reasons to believe that it would be possible for the captain to improve in 2024-25. If he plays again with Caufield (who could well bounce back next year) and Slafkovský (who isn’t the same player he was a year ago), Suzuki will be better surrounded and has the potential to have a better offensive season.

And the return of Kirby Dach, who should be at the center of the second line, will take some pressure off Suzuki’s shoulders.

If the Habs give Lane Hutson a chance to energize the Habs’ power play, it could also help the captain rack up more points. Again, there are a lot of conditions, but nothing is impossible.

In the long term, when the Habs have matured, it’s possible that offensive production will depend mainly on guys like Slafkovský, Caufield and Ivan Demidov. That said, in the short term, the captain may have another level to reach.

And in the worst-case scenario, if he really has reached his offensive production ceiling, a center who excels at 200 feet and can easily score 70 points a season isn’t exactly bad either.


Overtime

– Great news.

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