Suzuki looking forward to Habs 'proving people wrong'

After finishing at the bottom of the NHL standings last season, Nick Suzuki believes the Montreal Canadiens are ready to surprise their doubters this year.

“I think I’m most excited about kind of proving people wrong,” Suzuki told the Montreal Gazette on Monday. “I think people have really put us down. I was actually talking to (Sean) Monahan about our lineup. We’ve got a pretty deep team and I think people are really underestimating us. That’s not a bad thing, either. I think we’re going to surprise people.”

Monahan, acquired earlier this month from the Calgary Flames, is part of a major overhaul for Montreal this off-season, which also saw the club acquire Michael Matheson as part of their return for veteran defenceman Jeff Petry and forward Ryan Poehling.

Additionally, the Canadiens traded defenceman Alexander Romanov at the NHL Draft, acquiring centre Kirby Dach from the Chicago Blackhawks in the process, and moved former captain Shea Weber's contract to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for forward Evgeni Dadonov.

After the Montreal Canadiens acquired Sean Monahan from the Calgary Flames, Habs' GM Kent Hughes spoke to the media about how the team was able to take on Monahan's cap hit, and as Hughes explains, it's due to the fact that the news on Carey Price's health has been discouraging, and the star goaltender may be unable to play in the upcoming season.

The off-season has also included the Canadiens selecting Juraj Slafkovsky No. 1 overall and general manager Kent Hughes announcing Carey Price is not expected to play this season. 

“He has seemed to make a lot of strategic moves,” Suzuki said of Hughes. “We’ve lost a few great guys in the room, guys that I got pretty close with. But I think the team and the