Nick Suzuki and the Montreal Canadiens were just ranked the best-positioned team in hockey for the next decade.
NHLMuse released the ranking this week, placing Montreal first ahead of San Jose, Anaheim and Utah.
The case for Montreal starts with what is already on the ice. Suzuki posted 29 goals and 72 assists for 101 points this past season.
He was even better in the playoffs, piling up 16 points over 19 games as Montreal beat Tampa Bay and Buffalo before Carolina ended the run in the third round.
Ivan Demidov backed that up with a strong rookie season of his own, posting 19 goals and 43 assists for 62 points over 82 games.
Montreal finished the regular season 48-24-10 for 106 points and sixth overall, proof this roster already competes at a real level.
Suzuki and Demidov make the case on their own
The front office has been just as active building toward the next decade specifically. General manager Kent Hughes has reportedly been calling around the league in search of a true No. 1 center.
Montreal also brought in Derek Lalonde as an associate coach this summer, adding experience to the staff Martin St-Louis runs behind the bench.
Even the smaller moves fit the pattern. Montreal re-signed depth center Hunter McKown to a one-year, two-way deal just last week.
None of that guarantees anything on its own, but a young core already performing at a playoff level, paired with a front office still adding pieces, is exactly why Montreal topped this list.
San Jose, Anaheim and Utah rounded out the top four, but none of them can point to a resume quite like the one Montreal just put together.
The full ranking and reasoning is worth reading directly.
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Rankings like this are more fun than definitive, but Montreal's case is built on more than hope at this point.
Do the Canadiens actually have the NHL's brightest future?
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