Nick Suzuki: “I would be very surprised if he left the team.”

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
Nick Suzuki: “I would be very surprised if he left the team.”
Credit: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Since yesterday, we've been wondering whether Nick Suzuki will be the one to take the hit when Canada needs to make room for Brad Marchand for tomorrow's game.

Just asking the question speaks volumes. It reminds us that the Montreal Canadiens captain is not exactly having the best Olympic tournament.

Is not playing center unsettling him? Possibly. But in any case, he is not the top-tier forward we know from the NHL.

So even though the sample size is small, it's clear that Suzuki is among the candidates to be left out of the Canadian lineup for tomorrow's quarterfinal game.

Reminder: Canada will face the winner of the Czech Republic vs. Denmark game, which will take place at 10:40 a.m. (Quebec time) this morning.

But according to Renaud Lavoie, who discussed the topic this morning on BPM Sports with the morning crew, we should expect to see the Flanelle player compete in tomorrow's game.
The reporter would be “very surprised” if Jon Cooper decided to remove him from the lineup.

The fact that Suzuki is among the best Canadian players in terms of scoring chances generated is one of the reasons Lavoie believes Suzuki should play tomorrow.

Will that make a difference when it comes time to make the decision? Who knows.

According to Lavoie, another name that keeps coming up for being skipped is Sam Bennett. He hasn't had the best tournament, and it seems like he hasn't been playing to his strengths for the last two games.

Could a guy like him (or even Seth Jarvis) be skipped ahead of Suzuki, who doesn't have the same iron man streak at the Olympics as he does in the NHL? We'll see.


In a nutshell

– The Bruins want reinforcements.

– Yes.

– Women's hockey final: it won't be easy for Canada against the Americans.

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