Canadiens’ Caufield Has Grown Into Quite A Leader

Just over a week and a half ago, when the Montreal Canadiens lost in overtime to the San Jose Sharks largely because of two penalties that shouldn’t have been taken, winger Juraj Slafkovsky and sniper Cole Caufield spoke up. The American said:

There’s really no need for any of those penalties. Really, it’s on us. It’s our mistakes. We’re giving them opportunities to get back in the game, and it’s not very mature of us.

Hearing a member of the Canadiens’ young core speak like that was something new and surprised the horde of media members in the scrum. Unsurprisingly, in the next few days, Martin St-Louis was asked if there was a danger in players calling each other out, and the bench boss opined:

Being accountable doesn’t mean pointing the finger at a teammate. If you’re going to go down that route, you better judge yourself first. Before you start pointing fingers, look in the mirror and make sure you’re holding yourself accountable before asking others to do the same. I think we’ve got that; we’re not a group that points the finger. We’re a group that takes responsibility, is honest, and looks at itself in the mirror.

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Given what Slafkovsky and Caufield had said just two days before, it made you wonder if that was the coach sending a message. However, on the Canadiens’ road trip, the diminutive winger sported an alternate captain’s A on his jersey, and when the bench boss was asked about that, he explained:

When you lose your captain, and you need someone to wear a letter, it gives me an opportunity to reward the players who drive our culture…I’ve been here for a while, and I think he’s a guy who drives the culture. Jake does that; he’s been here for a long time, and Cole, since I’ve been here, I’ve seen him drive the culture. He’s focused on always becoming the best version of himself, and that’s not necessarily just about being a better goal scorer. It’s about how he plays defensively, the details, and what he brings every single day. So it gives me the opportunity to do that, and I’m trying to distribute these moments of recognition around a little bit. The guys are proud to wear a letter on their jersey, so it’s a great opportunity for me.”

Clearly, St-Louis knows how important the American is to the team and to its culture, and is also very proud of the hockey player he has become. Caufield keeps his own house in order; the way he plays and carries himself, he’s not the one who costs his team leads by taking penalties. In fact, he takes so few of them that he even won the Lady Bing Trophy last season.

Interestingly, since the temporary alternate captain has spoken up, the Canadiens haven't wasted a lead, and the penalties haven't completely gone away, but those taken at crunch time practically have. The exception is Arber Xhekaj’s interference call in the game against the Dallas Stars, but that wasn’t a conscious bad decision by the blueliner; it came out of pressure and necessity after an Oliver Kapanen turnover. When Caufield talks, the team listens; he's earned the right to say what needs to be said.

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