After finishing last season as the runner-up in the Rocket Richard Trophy race, Montreal Canadiens sniper Cole Caufield will look to build on that performance.
What a year it was for Montreal Canadiens winger Cole Caufield; he was snubbed by Team USA and couldn’t go to the Olympics, but he certainly shone brightly with the Habs, at least in the regular season. With 51 goals, he was the league’s second-highest goal scorer in the league behind Nathan MacKinnon, who won the Rocket Richard Trophy with 53 goals, but eight of them came in an empty net, whereas Caufield didn’t score one.
However, the 25-year-old wasn’t happy with his playoff performance; on the locker-room clear-out day, he summed it up by saying: “Obviously, I sucked. That’s just plain and simple. I’ve got to be better. I expect a lot more out of myself. My teammates and coaches do, too. I think there’s a lot more out there. I’m nowhere near satisfied with how that went”.
Caufield has always been good at having short-term memory and shaking off a bad game, but his playoff performance really seemed to get to him, and it feels like he’ll have a chip on his shoulder about it this season. The best way to play well in the playoffs is to have a good regular season and carry the momentum into the postseason. Last year, there was so much attention on breaking the 50-goal barrier that everyone was looking for Caufield on the ice and trying to get him the puck so he could reach 50, and when he did, there was a huge sigh of relief, and then it felt like perhaps the adrenaline of the chase was gone, which made him a bit flat.
Expect Caufield to burst out of the gate this season, being eager to show that the decline in production in the playoffs wasn’t something that would repeat itself. Much like Nick Suzuki, though, he would really benefit from the Canadiens finding another impact top six player who would make the second line more of a handful to handle. Wherever that player lands, he would have an impact on the top two lines. It would take some of the heat away from the Suzuki line if he were to land on the second line with Demidov.
Now that the pressure of being the first 50-goal scorer for the Canadiens in 40 years is behind him, Caufield should be able to focus better on the game, and his teammates won’t be looking to give him the puck at all times either, which means they won’t be forcing the plays as much.
If the Habs do find a way to pad up their top six, I wouldn’t be surprised if Caufield was eventually able to reach the 60-goal mark. Only two players have done that in Canadiens’ history: Guy Lafleur in 1977-78 and Steve Shutt in 1976-77; both made it to 60, but they couldn’t get on the other side of 60. The sniper would tell you that he doesn’t care about personal stats; it remains interesting for fans to keep an eye on the scoring race, and chances are that Caufield will once again be in contention for the Rocket Richard Trophy, and I wouldn’t be shocked if he won it this year.
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