JPat: Opportunity knocking for versatile Suter to centre Canucks’ third line. Is he up to the challenge?
In three of his four National Hockey League seasons, Pius Suter has scored 14 goals. In his other year, he exploded for 15. It’s pretty safe to say the 28-year-old Swiss forward is consistent. In his first season with the Vancouver Canucks in 2023-24, Suter scored 14 times, added 15 assists and demonstrated versatility that allowed him to fill a variety of roles. He did it all for the very team-friendly price of $1.6M which is what he’ll cost against the cap again next season.
With the departure of Elias Lindholm in free agency, Suter may find himself asked to shuffle back to centre which is where he was slated to play at the outset of last season. However, as the year unfolded, Suter was deployed more as a top six winger primarily on a line with JT Miller and Brock Boeser and he brought diligence and defensive acumen to that position. While he wasn’t counted on to produce at a high level, Suter was in the right place at the right time to score the only goal in the Canucks 1-0 victory that dispatched Nashville from the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
