When Marc Bergevin signed him to an eight-year contract extension in 2021, he had in his vision that Nick Suzuki would become a first elite center in the NHL. The captain of the Canadian is completing the second year of this pact. What exactly is it?
According to data compiled by Sportlogiq, Suzuki, at 24 years old, remains among the best forwards in the NHL in a wide range of categories. The most telling is undoubtedly his time of puck possession in the offensive zone.
He controls the Canadian’s attack with the puck on his paddle for, on average, 57 seconds per game. Which places him at 13e rank, eight seconds and less behind Leon Draisaitl (1:05), Mikko Rantanen (1:04), Kirill Kaprizov (1:03) and Patrick Kane (1:00). And he is in front of William Nylander (0:56).
If we only look at center players, he ranks sixth, behind big names such as Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Jack Hughes.
Controlling the puck is one thing. But if it’s to have it removed, we’re no further ahead. However, Suzuki maintains a turnover rate of 13.8%. This is a respectable rate, although there is room for some improvement.
That said, for this category, the players are dependent, in part, on their playing companions. Since the first unit seems more solid for almost ten games, Suzuki should gain in efficiency.
“My precious, my precious”
Martin St-Louis often repeats: “The NHL is not an easy league.” Nobody gives each other gifts. Even less when it comes to protecting the puck. “My precious, my precious,” as Smeagol would say in The Lord of the Rings.
So, to get it, you have to chase the bearer, apply pressure, rush to jump on it when it is free and win the one-on-one battles to obtain it.
Here again, the Habs center player ranks among the best in his profession. With 3.03 battles won per encounter, he ranks 12e rank among forwards, on an equal footing with Sidney Crosby, a model of reliability, and is just behind Anze Kopitar’s 3.14, another fine example.
That’s what we call being in good company.
Same thing for covered washers. With an average of 18.9 per game, he is ahead of Leon Draisaitl (18.8) and close behind Nikita Kucherov (19.0) in addition to being able to see the leaders Auston Matthews (20.1), Kirill Kaprizov (20.1) and Tomas Hertl (20.1) not too far ahead.
In the footsteps of Damphousse
This data confirms, contrary to what many might think, that Suzuki would be the center of the first trio of several teams on the Bettman circuit. And if he continues on this tangent, with an annual salary of $7.875 million, he risks being a godsend when the conclusion of this agreement approaches.
If Pierre Turgeon and Vincent Damphousse were the last Habs center players to flirt with the 100-point plateau, Suzuki could very well be next. Yes, he will need a notable progression in terms of the frequency with which he blackens the scoresheet since he has never reached 70 yet.
So far this season, he’s taken a big step in that direction. With 34 points in 39 games, he practically maintains the pace of one point per game. All this with Cole Caufield who hit the target less often than expected.
Nick Suzuki – Average per match – Ranking NHL forwards
- Time of possession
in offensive zone 0:57 13e - Completed passes
in offensive zone 19.4 10e - Free pucks recovered 18.9 9e
- 1v1 battle
won 3.0 13e - Turnover rate 13.8% 31e
- Goals 0.31 98e
- Scoring chances 2.3 94e
Centers – Time of possession in the offensive zone
- Connor McDavid 1:19
- Nathan MacKinnon 1:16
- Jack Hughes 1:13
- Jack Eichel 1:11
- Matthew Barzal 1:05
- Nick Suzuki 0:57
Centers – Battles won
- Sean Couturier 4.14
- John Tavares 3.76
- Tomas Hertl 3.62
- Aleksander Barkov 3.42
- Dylan Larkin 3.32
- Ryan O’Reilly 3.23
- Vincent Trocheck 3.21
- Adam Lowry 3.18
- Auston Matthews 3.17
- Anze Kopitar 3.14
- Jordan Staal 3.05
- Nick Suzuki 3.03
- Sidney Crosby 3.03
Centers – Puck recoveries
- Auston Matthews 20.1
- Tomas Hertl 20.1
- Connor McDavid 19.9
- Robert Thomas 19.6
- Mark Scheifele 19.3
- Tim Stützle 19.1
- Nick Suzuki 18.9
- Vincent Trocheck 18.7
- Sean Couturier 18.6
- Jack Hughes 18.5