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Nick Suzuki is the 31st Captain of the Montreal Canadiens


GHT120

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Just now, TurdBurglar said:

I’m not sure anyone is surprised about this.  
 

I wonder if this may be a signal Gallagher may be on his way out?  Pure speculation, nothing more.

 

 

Gallagher retains his "A" ... if HuGo COULD move Gallagher I expect they would ... but it would "cost" far, far too much ... by which I mean either the Habs would have to retain 50% of the cap-hit/salary and have $3.25M in dead space on their cap for this season and four more ... OR ... a "floor" team might be willing to accept the contract but it would likely cost multiple high draft picks and top prospects.

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I’ll play Grinch and say I don’t like it.

 

Suzuki is still developing. We need him to find another level to his game, which I believe he will do, but being C of the Habs is a lot of added pressure. Look what it did to Patches.

 

I would have left Suzuki with an A and given it to Edmundson as a transitional move. Reassess when he’s gone in a couple of seasons.

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2 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

I’ll play Grinch and say I don’t like it.

 

Suzuki is still developing. We need him to find another level to his game, which I believe he will do, but being C of the Habs is a lot of added pressure. Look what it did to Patches.

 

I would have left Suzuki with an A and given it to Edmundson as a transitional move. Reassess when he’s gone in a couple of seasons.

I get the thought process, but Suzuki seems like a quiet guy, and because of that, a lead by example guy. 
 

I don’t think the captaincy will make him try to do too much, other than work even harder. Plus, he’s known as a sportsmanlike player, and will likely be able to talk to the refs well. 
 

Personally very happy they went with him !

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Was Gallagher selected as an alternate just so that Suzuki would "fit" in the middle of this photo?

 

 

 

 

 

KIDDING

 

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28 minutes ago, Meller93 said:

I get the thought process, but Suzuki seems like a quiet guy, and because of that, a lead by example guy. 
 

I don’t think the captaincy will make him try to do too much, other than work even harder. Plus, he’s known as a sportsmanlike player, and will likely be able to talk to the refs well. 
 

Personally very happy they went with him !

 

I’m not gonna beat the point to death, I have no doubt Suze is a young leader, and I hope it all works out. But listen…even a player as admirable as Saku Koivu had to put up with constant attacks because he was C. So did Patches, who soured on Montreal partly, I suspect, because of the endless criticism that, as captain, he should be single-handedly making the Habs a winner. I’d prefer to spare Suzuki any of that at this juncture.

 

On the other hand, expectations for the team are the lowest they’ve been in years. Maybe he’ll be spared the worst of it. Where the job will become destructive is in 3-4 years when the Habs are supposed to be contended and Suzuki has to learn how to win along with the rest of them. That’s when I would expect him to start becoming flamed and demonized. 

 

So maybe it’s good that he has a couple of years to ease into the role before facing that, who knows.

 

I stand to be corrected, but I don’t sense the French media is gearing up to denounce Suzuki for not being bilingual. That would represent a massive step forward if true.

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7 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

... So maybe it’s good that he has a couple of years to ease into the role before facing that, who knows ...

 

Excellent point

 

7 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

... I stand to be corrected, but I don’t sense the French media is gearing up to denounce Suzuki for not being bilingual. That would represent a massive step forward if true.

 

 

Thus far it seems they are not, although I expect one or two of the "nationalist fringe" media will make a point of it.

One of the RDS guys predicted that by next September's golf tournament Suzuki will be giving interviews at least partially in French ... not meaning it as a requirement but as a commentary on his respect for the majority of the fanbase.

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1 hour ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

 

I stand to be corrected, but I don’t sense the French media is gearing up to denounce Suzuki for not being bilingual. That would represent a massive step forward if true.

 

I think they will be fine with this because he is a character guy, who would they have preferred anyway?  Drouin?  

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16 minutes ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

 

I think they will be fine with this because he is a character guy, who would they have preferred anyway?  Drouin?  

 

The lack of plausible francophone alternatives has never seemed to stop them before...

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24 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

 

The lack of plausible francophone alternatives has never seemed to stop them before...

Yeah. I still remember Turgeon being named captain as basically a new player coming in and being unfamiliar with his teammates. But that was the right decision for hockey team dynamic - his being Francophone had nothing to do with him being captain🙄

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44 minutes ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

 

I think they will be fine with this because he is a character guy, who would they have preferred anyway?  Drouin?  

I’m surprised he wasn’t made captain when they traded for him and handed him a new deal right after the trade. That must have shown a lot of restraint🙄

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4 hours ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

I’ll play Grinch and say I don’t like it.

 

Suzuki is still developing. We need him to find another level to his game, which I believe he will do, but being C of the Habs is a lot of added pressure. Look what it did to Patches.

 

I would have left Suzuki with an A and given it to Edmundson as a transitional move. Reassess when he’s gone in a couple of seasons.

I agree with this. Why not Edmundson first?  The performance expectations are minimal,  and he's been around. I hope the media and fans cut suzuki some slack and let him grow into the captain.

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47 minutes ago, BCHabnut said:

I agree with this. Why not Edmundson first?  The performance expectations are minimal,  and he's been around. I hope the media and fans cut suzuki some slack and let him grow into the captain.

If they went the interim captain route, while knowing that Suzuki would be their choice in the long-term, there are two issues that I see:

  1. does it mean you can't re-sign/extend Edmundson beyond 23/24 since it would mean taking away the "c" in order for Suzuki to take it on; and
  2. they would be having Suzuki transition into the captaincy right when there is actual expectation of the team to be serious playoff contenders and have legit Cup aspirations. 
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Suzuki is the new face of the new system and new way of thinking and operating. 
 

Edmundson does not represent any of that. 
 

I think Cucumber does raise legit concerns though. Captains in Montreal face crazy scrutiny - Koivu went through so much nonsense. I’m hoping that Dach and a reinvigorated Dvorak can take some of the workload off of Suzuki so that he isn’t overwhelmed and bogged down by too much. 

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5 hours ago, TurdBurglar said:

I’m not sure anyone is surprised about this.  
 

I wonder if this may be a signal Gallagher may be on his way out?  Pure speculation, nothing more.

 

Gally is not going anywhere.  That contract is a monster albatross which no team is taking on and I don't think Hughes is interested in giving multiple picks/retaining salary as a sweetener to take it on.  I don't disagree with the posts from those who think they should have waited a year or two and maybe given it to Gally or Edmundson in the short term but Nick is a mature young man, respected by his teammates and I think he will grow nicely into the role.  McDavid was 19 (almost 20) when he was named captain and he has certainly grown into the role. 

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21 hours ago, GHT120 said:

Was Gallagher selected as an alternate just so that Suzuki would "fit" in the middle of this photo?

 

 

 

 

 

KIDDING

 

How many years till godawful siezure causing adboard Euro-jerseys are the norm... 10yrs?

 

Molson need the cash i guess?

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Losing is what causes the attacks by the media and fan base... patches was attacked because he was our sniper and disappeared for stretches... his style of play which at times came across as lazy is what it was all about. Being a fairly sizeable player but never using his frame and always playing the perimeter.

Koivu attacked? He was beloved by most and unfortunately became captain of a team that was completely dismantled post 95 (a contending team I might add) which set us back at least a decade with continuous losses.

 

Suzuki will be fine.. and is the only logical choice...  with no pressure to win year 1 he has a chance to grow into the role.

 

 

 

Leadership is not defined by age nor is it a prerequisite 

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1 hour ago, IN THE HEARTS OF MEN said:

Losing is what causes the attacks by the media and fan base... patches was attacked because he was our sniper and disappeared for stretches... his style of play which at times came across as lazy is what it was all about. Being a fairly sizeable player but never using his frame and always playing the perimeter.

Koivu attacked? He was beloved by most and unfortunately became captain of a team that was completely dismantled post 95 (a contending team I might add) which set us back at least a decade with continuous losses.

 

Suzuki will be fine.. and is the only logical choice...  with no pressure to win year 1 he has a chance to grow into the role.

 

 

 

Leadership is not defined by age nor is it a prerequisite 

 

“Losing is what causes the attacks.” Yes, but the Habs are - like nearly every team, ever - destined to lose a whole lot more than they win. Once expectations start to rise for this group, Suzuki will start to feel the heat for things that are in no way his fault. Just like Koivu, who, whatever you say, was crapped on by a substantial portion of fans throughout his captaincy, and was frowned upon by chunks of the French media for not speaking French.

 

Funny, I didn’t hear Vegas crapping on Patches. Once he had the C, he was no longer allowed to be the player he was, a streaky goal-scorer good for first-line production. Suddenly he had to grab the team by the lapels and (somehow) force them to win. Otherwise he was a “bad captain” then Habs would never win with, blah blah blah.

 

That kind of thing can be very hard on a player, and eventually make them want to leave Montreal.

 

Meanwhile, my hope that the language issue would be muted has proved to be delusional: https://rogers.janrainsso.com/static/server.html?origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sportsnet.ca%2Fnhl%2Farticle%2Fquebec-election-party-leaders-say-new-canadiens-captain-suzuki-needs-to-learn-french%2F

 

That being said, while I disagree with making a big hoo-haw out of it, I actually agree with these blatherskites’ assertions. Suzuki is very young, is C and will be in Montreal for years to come…why not take a page from Dryden, Robinson, and Gainey and learn some basic level of functional French? 

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35 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

... Meanwhile, my hope that the language issue would be muted has proved to be delusional: https://rogers.janrainsso.com/static/server.html?origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sportsnet.ca%2Fnhl%2Farticle%2Fquebec-election-party-leaders-say-new-canadiens-captain-suzuki-needs-to-learn-french%2F

 

That being said, while I disagree with making a big hoo-haw out of it, I actually agree with these blatherskites’ assertions. Suzuki is very young, is C and will be in Montreal for years to come…why not take a page from Dryden, Robinson, and Gainey and learn some basic level of functional French? 

 

 

 

And that wasn't phonetic French ... I saw another clip somewhere yesterday where he said he took French throughout school but reads and understands better than he speaks (which is pretty common for Ontario high school French) ... also, he said he was taking Babel lessons over the summer ... not concerned that the party leaders in a campaign centered in part on "preserving the French identify of Quebec" raised the issue ... and I also expect a few Quebec nationalist media/social commentators to raise the point ... but, I don't expect it to "have legs" or gain any real traction ... especially if Suzuki continues to throw in some French that shows progression.

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Interesting :ph34r: Patches 19, PK 2

 

 

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1 hour ago, alfredoh2009 said:

Interesting :ph34r: Patches 19, PK 2

 

 

Didn’t they initially say that Mgmt picked the captains themselves?  Wasn’t it the same this time around?

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Love Suzuki and excited about the player he can become, but given the recent contracts to Thomas and Kyrou, did we significantly overpay Suzuki??

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