Montreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield made history last night for the Habs when he scored his 50th goal. The last player to score 50 for the Canadiens was Stephane Richer, who scored 51 goals in the 1989-90 season. It's also the 13th time in franchise history the 50-goal mark has been reached by a Canadien.
Caufield scored #50, 13:30 into the first period.
After the game, Caufield, who was affectionately nicknamed "Eloc" by Johnny Gaudreau when they played together at the 2024 IIHF World Championships, spoke on the impact the late Johnny Gaudreau has made in his career.
Caufield had this to say, "It’s a reminder every time I put my jersey and my helmet (on). It’s weird to think about, but every time you get to do that, it’s an opportunity to represent him, and remember him, so I guess it’s a special thing to kinda, you know, do that, but I guess you know he’s behind me and he’s looking down on us. Everybody that he knew he made a better person, so no, I can’t obviously, you know, give him a hug right now, but you know, I wish I could."
Gaudreau has been a huge inspiration to Caufield.
In September 2024, Caufield announced that he would be switching his jersey from 22 to 13, following the death of Gaudreau, citing Johnny as an inspiration for players of smaller stature such as himself.
Caufield stands at 5'8'' and weighs 175lbs. Gaudreau was 5'9'' and 163lbs. At Gaudreau's draft, he was listed at 5'6'' and weighed 137 lbs.
Cole Caufield has a very bright future ahead of him and will continue to carry Johnny Gaudreau with him. In his first 5-plus seasons, Caufield has 306 points, which include 168 goals in 365 games. Gaudreau, in his first five seasons, had 386 points, including 133 goals in 383 games. The stats are eerily similar.
Caufield, much like Gaudreau, is fun to watch unless he's playing against your favorite team. Maybe one day Eloc will follow in Johnny's footsteps and sign with Columbus?
Hey, one can wish.
Next Up For Columbus: The Blue Jackets are in Montreal to play the Canadiens on Saturday night.
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