Nick Suzuki isn't losing sleep over what a $15 to $17 million player might make walking into the Montreal Canadiens' room.
In a French-language interview this week, Montreal's captain addressed the gap between his own salary and what stars now command around the league.
"That's what happens when you sign a long-term deal," Suzuki said. "It's been five years now. Times have changed."
"In this room, guys just want to win," Suzuki said. "Some players took less money to get here. That makes a difference."
"And we still make enough money to be set for life," he added, closing the thought without apologizing for it.
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Suzuki carries a $7,875,000 cap hit on Montreal's books right now. Five years into that deal, it reads like a used car that somehow appreciated in value.
This season he put up 101 points on 29 goals and 72 assists across 82 games, finishing at plus-37 for a Canadiens team that went 48-24-10.
Suzuki's $7.9 million deal looks like a bargain now
That record was good for sixth overall in the league and third in the division. Not bad for a captain still getting paid like it's 2021.
In the playoffs, Suzuki added 16 points over 19 games, four goals and 12 assists, though his rating slipped to minus-8 as the run wore on.
Montreal's last game on record was a 1-6 loss to Carolina on May 29, following a 0-4 defeat two nights earlier.
Here's the thing we can't ignore. Leon Draisaitl makes $14 million a year. Suzuki wears the C for less than eight and just told a reporter he's fine with that.
Is that loyalty, or is that a captain protecting a front office that hasn't had to test him yet?
Kent Hughes has the cap room to go find exactly the kind of contract Suzuki was describing out loud. Whether the room reacts the way its captain predicted is a different question, and nobody in Montreal has had to answer it yet.
Should Nick Suzuki get a new contract before the Canadiens hand out a $17 million deal to someone else?
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