By acquiring Patrik Laine last Monday, Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes said he wanted to “reward” his players for their efforts in recent years. Unsurprisingly, the addition of a scorer of this caliber has sparked frenzy throughout the organization. Nick Suzuki, for his part, sees an additional message: that his bosses truly want to move up a gear.
The Tricolore captain met the media on Thursday morning on the sidelines of a golf tournament organized by the Asista foundation, of which Suzuki is the ambassador.
Unsurprisingly, the conversation mainly revolved around the new CH winger. Despite his health issues in recent years, the Finn has been a regular scorer of 30 goals or more since his NHL debut. He has even already scored 44 in one season, and expressed his confidence in finding that level of performance in Montreal.
In an attack that lacked resources last season, his impact is likely to be immediate and, above all, considerable.
Two weeks ago, Suzuki said he was confident in the current roster, which is virtually unchanged from last season. With Laine, however, “it’s even better,” he believes. His presence will bring a “spark” to training camp, which will begin in mid-September. But that’s not all.
“Adding Patrik shows that management is ready to start winning,” the center player said. We [les joueurs] We are ready, and obviously the fans are ready too.”
“This year will be exciting,” he said. Teammates he’s spoken to in recent days apparently agree.
Naturally serious, even stoic, the 25-year-old striker lit up for a moment, saying how “excited it’s starting again” he was.
It was far from exuberance, far from it. But in such a calm interlocutor, it is permissible to read a level of feverishness that is out of the ordinary.
Suzuki also revealed that Kent Hughes had included him in his consultation round regarding the transaction he was preparing to carry out.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes
The GM has publicly said he did his “homework” by talking to several people who knew Laine well. He clearly also wanted to take the pulse of the locker room, which included a phone call to his captain.
“He called me a few days before the trade to see what I thought,” Suzuki confirmed. “I had no idea [de ce qui se tramait]and I didn’t know if it would work. Then the exchange happened quickly. I’m really happy!”
Don’t worry
PHOTO PAUL VERNON, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
Patrick Laine
In essence, Suzuki responded to Hughes that he saw Laine as a “great addition.” He has since spoken to his new teammate, and says he has “no concerns” about fitting into a young, tight-knit group.
The arrival of the star forward indeed presents at least two specificities compared to the past transactions of the current administration. First, he drags a reputation that is not the most enviable. The one who was drafted second overall in 2016 asked to be traded by his two previous organizations, the Winnipeg Jets and the Columbus Blue Jackets.
In Columbus, the relationship was so irreparable that general manager Don Waddell had to include a second-round pick in the deal he made with the Canadiens, apparently the only team willing to absorb Laine’s hefty salary in full. And in return, he got only a backup defenseman in Jordan Harris.
Then, it’s the first time that the current Habs administration has acquired a forward who is older than the current core and who is not perceived as a passing player – like Sean Monahan, Evgeni Dadonov or Tanner Pearson, for example.
“I think we can add anybody to our locker room,” Suzuki insisted. “Because of the guys we have, who come to work every day and have a good time together. I’m not worried about him integrating, it’ll be an easy transition.”
Wool will immediately strengthen the top 6 in attack, which should in principle take pressure off Suzuki’s trio and diversify the workforce on the power play. The CH’s five-man attack, in fact, was a one-unit affair last season.
Suzuki hails the “different dynamic” that having a second pure shooter in the lineup in Cole Caufield will bring.
As for the power play, he believes that a healthy “competition” can be established internally.
“In my early years in Montreal, it was the best unit that played first, so that gave importance to the rehearsals [à l’entraînement]he recalled. You don’t want to be the second unit, the one that doesn’t start the power play, and we have the guys to have two good units. I’m sure Martin [St-Louis] will have ideas…”
The head coach will, at the very least, have more ammunition, especially with the expected return of Kirby Dach. It remains to be seen whether these new features will translate into victories. The players, in any case, seem determined to make that happen.
The face of the Asista Foundation
For the third year in a row, Nick Suzuki is an ambassador for the Asista Foundation, which takes in abandoned dogs and trains them to become service dogs. These dogs then accompany people of all ages dealing with different issues, from autistic children or those with anxiety disorders to veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder. The hockey player said he visited schools with the foundation and was amazed by the interactions between the children and the dogs. “I saw how much good it does for them,” he said. He and his partner also became a foster family for Ruby, who was taken in by the SPCA, for a few weeks before she began training. “We didn’t want to give her back!” Suzuki said with a laugh.