Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes announced on Monday that the team has named Nick Suzuki as the 31st captain in franchise history. Suzuki will succeed veteran defenseman Shea Weber, who had previously served as team captain from 2018 to 2022. The 23-year old center becomes the youngest captain in Canadiens history.
The Canadiens also announced that defenseman Joel Edmundson and winger Brendan Gallagher will serve as the team’s alternate captains.
Suzuki is coming off of a season in which he registered a career-best 61 points (20 goals and 41 assists) and appeared in his first NHL All-Star Game. He led the team in points (61), assists (41), and power-play goals (8) while appearing in all 82 regular season games.
In October 2021, Suzuki signed an eight-year, $63 million contract extension to remain with the Canadiens through the 2029-30 campaign.
Suzuki was originally selected with the No. 13 pick in the 2017 NHL Draft by the Vegas Golden Knights. In September 2018, Suzuki was traded to the Canadiens along with Tomas Tatar and a second-round pick in exchange for veteran winger Max Pacioretty. He debuted with the Canadiens to begin the 2019-20 season and was named to the NHL’s All-Rookie Team. During his three-year career, the London, Ont. native has recorded 143 points (49 goals and 94 assists) in 209 career games.
