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Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki has been awarded the Frank J. Selke Trophy, while his teammate Cole Caufield took home the Lady Byng Trophy, the NHL announced Friday.
Suzuki initially thought his role was to present Caufield with his first individual NHL accolade. Caufield, meanwhile, assumed the day would be about honoring Suzuki during a locker-room meeting between Games 3 and 4 of Montreal’s second-round playoff series against the Buffalo Sabres. Neither expected what was coming.
Last month, Suzuki and Caufield were surprised when Suzuki was named the Selke Trophy winner and Caufield received the Lady Byng Trophy.
“It got both of us,” Suzuki said in a video conference about the prank that was kept under wraps for three and a half weeks. “We just thought we were both presenting. It was a great job by everyone to keep that on the down low.”
In a video shared by the NHL and the Canadiens, Caufield looked stunned as Suzuki handed him the Lady Byng, awarded annually to the player who best combines sportsmanship and playing ability. Moments later, Caufield surprised Suzuki with the Selke, given to the league’s top defensive forward.
“I was thinking about the whole time what I was going to say, pretty nervous as a public speaker,” Caufield said. “The way that went, it was pretty special. Really cool to share that with everybody who was in that room — your teammates, coaches, staff, because they all have a big part in why players have success.”
Suzuki captured the Selke as the first choice on 151 of 198 ballots from the Professional Hockey Writers Association. He posted a career-best 101 points in 2025-26, helping the Canadiens outscore opponents 94-58 at even strength when he was on the ice. Tampa Bay Lightning’s Anthony Cirelli finished far behind in the voting, followed by Colorado Avalanche’s Brock Nelson.
Montreal rebounded from last place overall in 2022 to reach the Eastern Conference final this season.
“It doesn’t happen without him and his leadership every day,” Caufield said of Suzuki. “There’s so many things that he does that help the team as a whole. We really follow his lead. It’s very well-deserved, but I think the guys in the room will tell you maybe not expected, but it’s something that we all knew he has in him.”
Caufield scored 51 goals, becoming the first Canadiens player since 1990 to reach the 50-goal mark, while taking just seven minor penalties. He finished second in Lady Byng voting behind recently retired Los Angeles Kings centre Anze Kopitar, a three-time winner, followed by Ottawa Senators defenceman Jake Sanderson.
“Special to give Cole his award and all the effort that he put in this season and what he’s done for our team,” Suzuki said. “The enthusiasm every morning that we all need on some tough mornings. It was cool to share that experience with him. We’ve been through a lot together. Just another thing that we get to share.”
Suzuki said both he and the Canadiens, who boasted the youngest roster to make the third round of the playoffs since Montreal in 1993 with an average age of 25.9 years, are just getting started.
“There’s lots of things to still work on,” he said. “You want to be the team still playing and have a chance to win the Cup. There’s a lot more things that myself and my teammates can do to have even better seasons moving forward. Exciting for our group.”
