Since the beginning of his career, Nick Suzuki has improved every year. The Habs captain sees his offensive production increase with each campaign, but more importantly, he becomes a more complete player each year.
And considering his club doesn't have a second center worthy of the name, what Suzuki does is critical for the Habs.
And this year, more than ever, we feel Suzuki has taken protection to a new level. And with Aleksander Barkov expected to miss most of the season, that opens up the possibility of seeing him win his 14th Selke Trophy.
Lushchyshyn's house, For Athleticjust informed us about the race for individual awards on December 1st… and among Selke we see Suzuki in first place.
According to Lushchyshyn, he is ahead of Leon Draisaitl and Mitch Marner.
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It's still early, but Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Matthew Schaefer have already made some very strong cases for Hart, Norris and Calder..https://t.co/CbcG5jBKwI pic.twitter.com/4iyUCZb7D0
– house
(@domluszczyszyn) December 1, 2025
An advanced statistics expert explains that Suzuki has a pretty exceptional record in defensive 5-on-5 play. The club scores very few goals when Suzuki is on the ice, in part because he helps his line dominate the opposition when he is on the ice.
This year, the Habs scored 17 goals at 5-on-5 when Suzuki was on the ice. On the other hand, under the same circumstances, they only conceded seven goals.
Luszczyszyn, who is also the person whose statistical model was high while criticizing Suzuki's contract several years ago (an opinion the pundit didn't necessarily agree with), also notes that watching Suzuki play at a numerical disadvantage helps his candidacy greatly. We know he didn't do that at the start of the season, but that has changed due to injuries in town.
He doesn't play as outnumbered as some other title contenders… but he does enough to check that box. And if he dominant in a 5v5 game he only needs to check that box to be credible.
We know it's a long season and it's possible that other guys will take their game up a notch. But after almost two months of struggle, Suzuki appears to be in the thick of the race for Selke more than ever.
And this despite the fact that he scores more points per game. He's just something, captain.
After a while
– Excellent reading by Andrey Markov.
The Canadiens will pay tribute to him on Wednesday night.
https://t.co/MLdcxYgEYS
– TVA Sports (@TVASports) December 2, 2025
– Canucks: Even if they want to sell, it won't be easy.
David Pagnotta: King Canucks: [Boeser's] you're not going anywhere, you're not going to run over DeBrusk, Myers, Pettersson… they're not giving up now – The Sheet (11/29)
– NHL Rumors Report (@NHLRumourReport) December 2, 2025
– What to pay attention to.
The arrival of Dylan Cease changes the game. https://t.co/E4R1QtI5fc
– Passion MLB (@passion_mlb) December 2, 2025
