Canadiens: Serge Savard Found Cole Caufield Less Dangerous Last Season
Canadiens: Serge Savard Found Cole Caufield Less Dangerous Last Season
© David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports - Canadiens: Serge Savard Found Cole Caufield Less Dangerous Last SeasonAt the fifth annual installment of the golf tournament he holds at Le Mirage in Terrebonne, former Canadiens GM Serge Savard joined Habs alumni for the event. Over the years, the event raised over $2 M for student athletes at Sherbrooke University.
The alumni are, as expected with media, asked to field questions for reporters. Savard gave an interesting take on sniper Cole Caufield. The Senator noticed that there was a difference to the young Americans game last season compared to the 2022-23 campaign.
“When Caufield arrived, I saw him as so dangerous every time he was on the puck. I found him less dangerous this year than the first year,” Savard told an RDS reporter in French. “There are explanations, there was an operation. I find he doesn’t have much space on the ice. You see in the corner, there are five guys there, it's like a rugby scrum. So, a guy like Caufield, he really has to take up space on the power play because there's a little more space there.”
When Caufield first joined the Canadiens, it was for the exhilarating 2021 Stanley Cup final run. The forward tallied 14 goals in 21 playoff games, and excited the fanbase for what was to come. In 2022-23, he had his best scoring pace with 26 goals in 46 games for an average of 0.565 points per game. The unfortunate shoulder injury and proceeding surgery—which Savard eluded to—ended his season as he needed to recover.
There’s a lot more than physical rehabilitation that goes into injury recovery. It’s impossible to know what goes on in a player’s mind, but the impact felt when you sustain an injury can have a lasting effect that manifests itself in future games.
Last year, Caufield had a tough start to the season before he finally found his stride playing on the first line with Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky. The sniper may not of had a torrent scoring spree, but he did appear in all 82 games for the bleu-blanc-rouge, and mustered 28 goals along with 65 points.
There’s a lot of high expectations thrust upon the young prospects on the fringe of making the NHL for the Habs. Next season, there will be many eyes watching to see how the top line improves, and some bold predictions have emerged online saying that Caufield could have a 40 even 50-goal campaign.
I’ve stated in the past that it would be fairer to set the bar at 30-goals, given that he has yet to surpass the mark. Under the tutelage of Martin St. Louis and the chemistry on display through the on and off-season with his linemates, Savard should look forward to a thriving Caufield in 2024-25.
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