Report: Habs sign Suzuki to massive 8 year contract

The kid is skilled but... he's never even hit 50 points before!

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 2 years ago
Report: Habs sign Suzuki to massive 8 year contract
Zuma Press

According to a report from NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, the Montreal Canadiens have signed 22 year old forward Nick Suzuki to a massive eight year contract worth $63 million. Suzuki's new deal comes with a $7.875 salary cap hit.

Check it out:


More to come including official confirmation from the team.

UPDATE: The team has now officially confirmed the deal.


"We are very happy to secure Nick's services for the next eight seasons," said general manager Marc Bergevin in a brief statement on the team's official website.

The 22 year old Suzuki certainly has impressed since coming over from the Vegas Golden Knights in a massive blockbuster trade that involved former Habs captain Max Pacioretty. But... and I full expect Habs fans to jump all over me for this... but is his worth nearly $8 million?

The creative centerman has put up back to back 41 point seasons to start his NHL career and there's reason to believe that he can be a legitimate point producer for years to come, but... is his an $8 million player? We recently saw the Vancouver Canucks sign star Elias Pettersson to a smaller deal and there were questions about even Pettersson earning his $7.35 million. Then again, maybe that Pettersson deal set the market in Bergevin's eyes? The fact of the matter is that when you know you have a player of Suzuki's calibre and you're confident in his ability to take the next step, you lock him up before his value increases even further. We may in fact look back at this Suzuki deal in a few years as one of the best contracts in the entire NHL.

The fact of the matter is that the Habs have been without a bonafide #1 center for years now and that Suzuki has all the makings of becoming a legitimate superstar at the position. And it's evident that the Habs felt secure in locking him up and handing him the keys to the #1 center spot for the forseeable future. Again, I'm not fully sold but I think it's a calculated gamble that could pay off HUGE for this team if/when Suzuki fulfills on his potential.