Suzuki has been battling a lower-body injury throughout training camp but returned to the ice on Friday. Suzuki told reporters that he would have played through the injury during the regular season but that they're being careful because it's training camp. This is positive news that Suzuki should be ready to go for the Canadiens' season opener.
Suzuki suffered the injury during offseason training and is expected to be sidelined for a couple of weeks. It seems possible that the newly minted Canadiens' captain could be ready for the start of the season, which is just over two weeks away for Montreal.
Suzuki is entering the final year of his entry-level contract and will get a huge raise next season, going from $863.3K AAV to $7.875M AAV. With Philip Danault now in Los Angeles, Suzuki will be tasked with playing major minutes in 2021-22, as he looks to build on his 60-point pace from a season ago.
Suzuki was the prized prospect that the Canadiens received in the Max Pacioretty trade but was unable to crack the opening night roster. The 2017 No.13 overall pick returns to Owen Sound, where he has scored 87 goals with 109 assists (196 points) in 129 games over the last two seasons.
Suzuki excels as a playmaker, but he also showed off some goal scoring ability in 2016-17, scoring 45 goals to go along with 51 assists (96 points) in 65 games with the Owen Sound Attack. Suzuki is a smart centre who makes those around him play better.
