Nick Suzuki, Montreal Canadiens sign eight-year contract extension

The Montreal Canadiens and centre Nick Suzuki have agreed on a eight-year contract extension that will take him to the end of the 2029-30 season.

The contract is now official.

The news was first reported by Elliotte Friedman, and the term was reported by Pierre LeBrun. LeBrun first reported the deal will carry a cap hit of $7.875 million per season.

Chris Johnston reports the contract comes with a 10-team no-trade clause.

Ever since the Canadiens were hit with an offer sheet for Jesperi Kotkaniemi, there was an added concern and urgency to get the Suzuki deal done as quickly as possible. As is the norm, both sides likely would have wanted to get it done prior to the season starting, and they hit that deadline by one day. Suzuki was set to become a restricted free agent at the end of this season. This contract will begin for the 2022-23 season.

The 22-year-old was acquired via trade from the Vegas Golden Knights along with Tomas Tatar and a second-round pick for the team’s then-captain Max Pacioretty in 2018. He has played 127 NHL games, scoring 28 goals and adding 54 assists for 82 points. He has added 11 goals and 12 assists in 23 playoff games and was the team’s leading scorer in their playoff run a year ago.

He is expected to be the team’s top centre this season, and the team now has the majority of their forward core locked up long-term. Of their top-nine players, only Cole Caufield and Jonathan Drouin have less than three years left on their contracts.

This post was updated at 10:00 with news the contract is official.