Suzuki possibly left out on Wednesday: Regardless, he is the #1 center in the NHL.

Marc-Olivier Cook
Suzuki possibly left out on Wednesday: Regardless, he is the #1 center in the NHL.
Credit: Capture d'écran / X

Ah, social media…

In 2026, we live in a society where everyone is entitled to their opinion. And you know what? I completely agree with that.

But since the start of the Olympic tournament, I've seen TONS of negative comments about Nick Suzuki, who plays on the wing. He's not good enough to play for Canada… He's not a quality #1 center in the NHL… the Canadiens will never win the Stanley Cup with him as captain… and so on.

In his recent podcast, Elliotte Friedman wondered if Suzuki would be left out of the next game to make room for Brad Marchand in the Canadian lineup. And again, the criticism was harsh—and numerous—towards the Montreal Canadiens captain. But even if Suz doesn't play in Wednesday's game against the Czech Republic, that doesn't mean he's not a top center in the NHL. And I'll explain why… in a fairly simple way.

Since the start of the season, Suzuki has racked up 65 points in 57 games. If he can keep up this pace, he will finish the regular season with a total of 93 points.

He is currently the seventh most productive center in the National Hockey League. The guys ahead of him? Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Macklin Celebrini, Leon Draisaitl, and Mark Scheifele.

Not bad, right?

Suzuki is also the league's second-leading scorer on the power play. And that's no small feat either.

Especially when the only guy ahead of him is Connor McDavid…

(Credit: Screenshot NHL.com)

But I can see what you're getting at:

Yeah… but Cook scores most of his points on power plays!

That's not true.

In fact… he may have earned a little over 50% of his points on the power play this season, but the Habs captain finished last season with 89 points (6th among NHL centers) — only 27 of which came on the power play.

That argument doesn't hold water…

Let's stop saying that Nick Suzuki isn't a #1 center. Let's stop saying that he doesn't deserve his place on Team Canada because he had two really decent games.

Because that's a bit ignorant in a way. The guy has what it takes on and off the ice to lead the Canadiens to the top, especially now that he's surrounded by better teammates than ever before.

And it's likely to get even better in the coming years with the talented young players who are coming up through the team…


In a nutshell

– Great Crosby.

— Wow! A BETWEEN THE LEGS GOAL FROM TIJ IGINLA FOR HIS 30TH OF THE SEASON 😱😱😱@Kelowna_Rockets | @utahmammoth | #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/mmiMyJAGV5

— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) February 16, 2026

— The Rocket's winning streak ends at seven.

facebook icon Share twitter icon Tweet linkedin icon Share
Copied!