Nick Kypreos makes bold statement over Nick Suzuki’s #1 center spot despite Canadiens thumping win over Senators

Nick Suzuki and the Montreal Canadiens are one of the hottest teams in the NHL. Since returning from the 4 Nations Face-Off, Montreal has gone 8-1-2, good for 18 points and second most among all teams in the league behind the St. Louis Blues (20 points).

After Tuesday's thrilling 6-3 win over Ottawa, the Habs are back in the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with 73 points. Nick Suzuki scored the game-winning goal on the power play with less than five minutes left in the third period.

Suzuki has been the driving force in Montreal's recent success, recording points in eight of the 11 games since the 4 Nations break, a stretch where he's racked up 18 points (six goals and 12 assists). However, not everyone is a believer that the 2017 first-round pick (13th overall) can be the No. 1 center on a Stanley Cup-contending team.

Sportsnet NHL analysts Nick Kypreos and Justin Bourne spoke on the topic during the "Real Kyper and Bourne Show" on Wednesday. HabsOnReddit shared the clip on X.

"Suzuki has been so so good,"" Kypreos said. "He is very good. But I just somehow, when this team's ready to contend, I don't see Suzuki and Newhook. One two down the middle. They, see for me, that's the team that should have gone after Dylan Cozens with Suzuki. And I'm not even sure when this team contends for a Stanley Cup. I'm not sure Suzuki's a No. 1 centerman. He is a fantastic number 2 for me."

Bourne chimed in and ranked Suzuki in his position.

"He's probably the 25th-best center in the league or something you know like he's good, but you can if you're hoping to win a cup it's tough to win with that," Bourne said.

Suzuki is tied for ninth among centermen in point scoring in the NHL this season. His eight-year $63,000,000 contract signed in 2021 pays him $7.875 million per campaign, which makes him the 26th highest-paid center in the league in terms of average annual salary.

Nick Suzuki is having a career-best season

In the sixth season of his NHL career, Nick Suzuki is putting up big numbers.

He has racked up 70 points (21 goals and 49 assists) through 67 games. He is on pace for 86 points, which would surpass his previous career-high of 77 in 2023-24. He also has a +11 rating — the first time he's been on the positive side in his NHL career.

Suzuki's production has increased in each of the last three seasons, and if he keeps up his pace, he'll make it four consecutive years this campaign.

Suzuki and the Canadiens have another important game in their playoff push on Thursday in New York against the Islanders. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. EST at UBS Arena.