Montreal Canadiens Prospects in the OHL Cole Caufield [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTk4NDUxMzk1NjY4NDg1OTcz/usatsi_19777554.jpg] Cole Caufield Cole Caufield is now signed through 2030-31 with the Bleu, Blanc et Rouge. The Montreal Canadiens announced Monday morning they have agreed to terms with the 22-year-old winger on an eight-year contract extension worth $7.85 million per season. In Year 6, Caufield gets a 15-team no-trade clause, which then becomes 10 teams in Year 7 and five teams in Year 8, according to CapFriendly [https://twitter.com/CapFriendly/status/1665711770248380417?s=20]. Caufield may have only played 46 games in 2022-23 before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery, but his 26 goals and 36 points, as well as his 53 goals and 84 points in 123 career NHL games, were convincing enough. The Canadiens drafted the 5-foot-7, 174-pound forward 15th overall in the 2019 NHL draft. After finishing up his Hobey Baker Award-winning year at the University of Wisconsin in 2020-21, he joined the Habs for 10 games and recorded four goals and an assist. He then played a prominent role in the Stanley Cup playoffs, with an impressive 12 points in 20 games en route to a Cup final loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Since then, the Canadiens have been undergoing a rebuild while locking in pieces of their future. They now have captain Nick Suzuki and Caufield signed through at least the 2029-30 season, as well as Kirby Dach signed for the next three seasons. They also have Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson signed through 2026-27 at a combined $12-million cap hit. Montreal still has Denis Gurianov as an RFA and five UFAs, including Sean Monahan and Jonathan Drouin. Whether those players stay or not, there will be roster spots to fill. The Canadiens have $725,834 in cap space at the moment, but they can free up $10.5 million in space with Carey Price on LTIR.
