Canadiens’ Suzuki Has a Great Chance to Win Back-to-Back Selke Trophies – The Hockey Writers – Montreal Canadiens

Nick Suzuki has steadily developed into one of the NHL’s most complete centres, and his progression was rewarded in 2025-26 when the Montreal Canadiens captain captured the first Selke Trophy of his career. Winning the award once is difficult enough. Winning it in consecutive seasons is an entirely different challenge.

The Selke Trophy, awarded annually to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game, has historically been dominated by some of the league’s best two-way centres. Patrice Bergeron won it a record six times, while Aleksander Barkov, Anze Kopitar and Ryan O’Reilly have all been recognized for their ability to impact the game at both ends of the ice. Suzuki has officially joined that group of elite two-way forwards. The question heading into 2026-27 is whether he can stay there and become a back-to-back Selke winner.

Suzuki Is a Complete Centre

Suzuki has always been known for his offensive abilities, but his development without the puck has been one of the biggest reasons for Montreal’s rise over the past couple of seasons. The Canadiens ask a lot from their captain. Suzuki is regularly matched against the opposition’s best players, takes important defensive-zone faceoffs and plays significant minutes on both special teams. He isn’t simply being protected so he can produce offensively. Martin St. Louis trusts him in virtually every situation.

That workload makes what Suzuki has accomplished offensively even more impressive. He will enter the 2026-27 season with 476 points in 537 career games, putting him just 24 points away from the 500-point milestone. Suzuki has also become one of the NHL’s most durable players, having yet to miss a regular-season game since making his NHL debut in 2019.

His defensive game has developed alongside that offensive production. Suzuki doesn’t necessarily dominate defensively because of his size or physicality. Instead, his intelligence is what separates him. His positioning, anticipation and ability to read developing plays allow him to disrupt possessions and quickly turn defence into offence. That combination ultimately helped him capture the Selke in 2025-26.

Repeating Will Be Difficult

Winning a second Selke won’t simply require Suzuki to maintain his level of play. He might have to improve. The competition for the award remains incredibly strong. Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov has been one of the NHL’s premier defensive forwards for years and will always be part of the conversation as he will be back healthy. Players such as Anthony Cirelli and Jordan Staal have also consistently received Selke consideration, while another group of younger two-way centres continues to emerge around the league.

There is also the natural difficulty of winning an individual award in consecutive seasons. Voters could look elsewhere if multiple candidates put together comparable seasons. Suzuki won’t have the benefit of being the player finally receiving recognition for years of underrated defensive work anymore. He enters the season as the reigning winner, meaning the expectations are higher.

However, recent history proves repeating isn’t impossible. Bergeron built a dynasty around the award during his career, while Barkov established himself as another perennial candidate. Once a player develops a reputation as one of the league’s premier defensive forwards, that reputation can actually help keep him in the conversation year after year.

Montreal’s Success Could Help His Case

Another factor working in Suzuki’s favour could be the Canadiens themselves. Montreal is no longer a rebuilding team simply hoping its young players take another step. After establishing itself as a legitimate playoff threat, expectations have changed.

Suzuki remains at the centre of everything. He is expected to continue playing alongside Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky, giving Montreal a first line capable of producing significant offence. At the same time, that trio will continue receiving difficult matchups against opposing top lines.

If Suzuki can produce another 100-point season while once again handling those assignments, his case becomes extremely difficult to ignore. Team defensive results could matter as well. If the Canadiens improve their goals against, penalty kill and overall defensive numbers while Suzuki remains their most-used forward in difficult situations, voters will have even more evidence supporting his candidacy.

Can Suzuki Go Back-to-Back?

There is no guarantee. The Selke is one of the NHL’s most difficult awards to predict because defensive impact isn’t as easy to quantify as goals or points. Reputation, advanced metrics, faceoffs, matchups, penalty killing and team success can all influence voting.

Suzuki, however, checks virtually every box. He produces offensively, plays against elite competition, contributes on special teams, rarely leaves the lineup and has developed into one of the smartest defensive centres in hockey.

His first Selke Trophy represented another major step in his evolution from promising young centre to legitimate NHL star. Now comes the harder part. If Suzuki can replicate his 2025-26 performance while helping the Canadiens remain among the Eastern Conference’s top teams, there is little reason he shouldn’t once again find himself among the Selke finalists. At this point, nobody should be surprised if Montreal’s captain makes it two in a row.