On September 12, 2022, right in the middle of the golf tournament, the Montreal Canadiens organization announced the appointment of Nick Suzuki as the 31st captain.

He indeed became the 31st captain in the rich history of the Montreal Canadiens.

At their first training camp, the duo of Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes made a big statement.

It was, in fact, the beginning of the club’s new era, the fruits of which we are seeing today.

Suzuki had big shoes to fill at the time, as he was succeeding none other than Shea Weber.

We remember that the veteran defenseman played his last game on July 7, 2021, in the Stanley Cup Final and wasn’t immediately replaced the following year.

As we know, the start of the 2021-2022 season was very difficult for the Habs.

The absences of Weber and Carey Price hurt the team, and the losses piled up.

Marc Bergevin, who was in the final year of his contract, was fired and replaced by Jeff Gorton (and later Kent Hughes), and the new management then replaced Dominique Ducharme with Martin St. Louis.

Dominique Ducharme confirms who his choice for captain was

In a recent appearance on the show “JiC” on TVA Sports, the former head coach of the team looked back on the discussions about selecting the captain during his tenure.

We learned that the previous management’s plan was the same as the Gorton/Hughes duo’s: to name Nick Suzuki as captain.

“We knew he was our captain.
There was a transition period when Shea Weber left, because Suzuki had just played his second season.”

– Dominique Ducharme

As for his former player’s development, Ducharme is not surprised at all.

He knew, even though Suzuki had only played two NHL seasons, that he had massive potential.

With 72 points in 69 games, number 14 is well on his way to finishing the season with an average of a point or more per game.

With a quick calculation, he could finish with 85 points if he maintains this pace.

Ducharme is confident that Suzuki will have similar seasons for many years to come.

“He’s someone who will hover around that in the coming years, said Ducharme before adding, He can still find another gear.”

– Dominique Ducharme