Vegas Hockey Knight
Fansided

Remembering the Nick Suzuki trade between the Vegas Golden Knights and Canadiens

On September 10, 2018, the Vegas Golden Knights traded Nick Suzuki to the Montreal Canadiens as part of a deal for Max Pacioretty. How did it impact the team? How has Suzuki done away from the Golden Knights?

By Jacob Walters

Vegas Golden Knights v Vancouver Canucks
Vegas Golden Knights v Vancouver Canucks / Rich Lam/GettyImages
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 3
Next

Nick Suzuki's revenge against the Vegas Golden Knights

It's 2021 and all 31 NHL teams are stuck in a proverbial bubble. The pandemic is still leaving fans inside their homes (for the most part) and the divisions have temporarily shifted to accommodate travel schedules. The Canadian teams are clustered into a seven-team division because of COVID restrictions.

Coincidentally, the Vegas Golden Knights and Montreal Canadiens met up in a semifinal matchup. Vegas represented the West Division while Montreal represented the North Division. Carey Price was unstoppable during this Stanley Cup Playoffs installment, stymieing superstars such as Auston Matthews. After having an average regular season, he suddenly posted a GAA of 2.28 and a save percentage of .924 that year. It was the perfect chance for Nick Suzuki to exact his revenge on the team who traded him, facing Max Pacioretty and the Golden Knights.

He hurt his former club during the series, scoring a goal and four assists. That lone goal came in Game 5, which swung the momentum in Montreal's favor. He and Cole Caufield led them to the Stanley Cup Final, where they'd lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games. Still, Suzuki defeated the franchise that drafted him. Plus, the Golden Knights would bring home the Stanley Cup a couple of seasons later, forgetting about that fateful semifinal upset.

Home/Analysis