Montreal Canadiens General Manager Kent Hughes announced on Monday the appointment of Nick Suzuki as the 31st captain in team history. The decision was made by the club’s hockey management personnel.
An alternate captain last season, Suzuki succeeds Shea Weber, who served as captain between 2018 and 2022.
Suzuki, 23, becomes the youngest captain in team history. Now embarking on his fourth professional season, he will be playing the first year of an eight-year contract extension signed in October 2021. Suzuki made his NHL debut with the Canadiens in 2019-20 and was named to the League’s All-Rookie Team. He has registered 143 points (49 goals, 94 assists) in 209 career NHL games. Last season, the centerman produced a career-high 61 points in 82 games and led the team in scoring. Suzuki also made his first appearance in the NHL All-Star Game. His streak of 209 consecutive games played is the sixth longest active streak in the NHL (tied with Elias Lindholm of the Calgary Flames).
A native of London, ON, Suzuki played for the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack and Guelph Storm, amassing 328 points (141 goals, 187 assists) in 251 games. During his final junior season in 2018-19, he helped the Storm win the OHL Championship with 42 points in 24 postseason appearances. That earned him OHL Playoffs MVP honors, before the Storm ultimately fell in the semifinals of the Memorial Cup. Suzuki also represented Canada at the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship, collecting three assists in five games.
Selected in the first round (13th overall) by the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017, Suzuki was acquired by the Canadiens along with Tomas Tatar and a draft pick in exchange for Max Pacioretty on September 10, 2018.
Montreal Canadiens captains:
| 30th Shea Weber | 2018-2022 |
| 29th Max Pacioretty | 2015 – 2018 |
| 28th Brian Gionta | 2010 – 2014 |
| 27th Saku Koivu | 1999 – 2009 |
| 26th Vincent Damphousse | 1996 – 1999 |
| 25th Pierre Turgeon | 1995 – 1996 |
| 24th Mike Keane | 1995 |
| 23rd Kirk Muller | 1994 – 1995 |
| 22nd Guy Carbonneau | 1989 – 1994 |
| 21st Chris Chelios | 1989 – 1990 |
| 20th Bob Gainey | 1981 – 1989 |
| 19th Serge Savard | 1979 – 1981 |
| 18th Yvan Cournoyer | 1975 – 1979 |
| 17th Henri Richard | 1971 – 1975 |
| 16th Jean Béliveau | 1961 – 1971 |
| 15th Doug Harvey | 1960 – 1961 |
| 14th Maurice Richard | 1956 – 1960 |
| 13th Émile Bouchard | 1948 – 1956 |
| 12th Bill Durnan | 1948 |
| 11th Toe Blake | 1940 – 1948 |
| 10th Walter Buswell | 1939 – 1940 |
| 9th Albert Siebert | 1936 – 1939 |
| 8th Sylvio Mantha | 1933 – 1936; 1926 – 1932 |
| 7th George Hainsworth | 1932 – 1933 |
| 6th Bill Coutu | 1925 – 1926 |
| 5th Sprague Cleghorn | 1922 – 1925 |
| 4th Newsy Lalonde | 1916 – 1922 1912 – 1913 1910 – 1911 |
| 3rd Howard McNamara | 1915 – 1916 |
| 2nd Jimmy Gardner | 1913 – 1915 |
| 1st Jack Laviolette | 1909 – 1910 1911 – 1912 |
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