Unfortunate news for the Canadiens.
As anticipated, Nick Suzuki was unable to convince the Canadiens’ management that he warranted a spot in the Four Nations Tournament scheduled for February at the Bell Centre and in Boston.
While circumstances may shift if injuries occur and Canada opts to call Suzuki, the current situation remains unchanged.
Therefore, he will have a few days off in February, unless things alter.
This situation reflects poorly on the Canadiens, as neither the team’s captain nor its top goaltender—assuming Samuel Montembeault isn’t chosen for the Canadian squad—has been selected.
However, this isn’t really surprising, especially since #14 won the Molson Cup in November.
Unless the U.S. chooses to include Cole Caufield or the Finns select Joel Armia (which I doubt), the Canadiens may find themselves poorly represented.
Ultimately, it’s evident that the players aren’t strong enough to fill top-6 roles, nor do they align with the expectations for bottom-6 players. Canada’s selection might prove to be quite unexpected.
