Courtesy of: David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports
Cole Caufield, 22 years old, was the 15th overall pick by the Montreal Canadians in the 2019 NHL Draft.
In the 22-23 season Caufield had scored 26 goals and added 10 assists over a period of 46 games. After dislocating his shoulder two times throughout the season, Caufield had to undergo season-ending shoulder surgery. On Monday when being interviewed Caufield disclosed that 10 days prior he had been released and planned on spending the summer as a full participant in training camps.
Courtesy of: Dave Sandford
Prior to surgery, Caufield led the Canadiens in goals for the second consecutive season and was tied with Captain Nick Suzuki this season.
This offseason Caufield was set to be a restricted free agent. On Monday, the Montreal Canadiens announced they would extend Caufield’s contract by eight years, capping out at around $62.8 million and ultimately giving him $7.85 million per season.
Locking down Caufield until at least 2030 was a big step Courtesy of: Adam Hunger
that general manager Kent Hughes needed to accomplish in building his team around a younger core group of guys.
After agreeing to his long-term deal with the Canadiens, the first thing Caufield did was call his mother. While she was working at the time she later called him back and they shared such a life-changing moment together.
In a video call interview with reporters, Caufield said, “She was excited, started crying on the phone. It's really so special for me and my family… They couldn't be more proud, and I couldn't be more thankful for what they've done.”
“I'm just ... I'm at a loss for words sometimes just thinking about it,” Caufield said.
Caufield, who said he couldn't have dreamed of such a large amount of money as that as a kid, wanted to sign long-term instead of opting for a bridge deal both to have his family "set for a while" and because of how much he loves playing in Montreal.
A few other major wins for Hughes were acquiring Kirby Dach, drafting Juraj Slafkovsky, and locking down Suzuki until the year 2030.
Over the course of 123 games, Caufield has 53 goals and a total of 84 points after making his NHL debut with the Canadiens in the 20-21 season.
Courtesy of: CanadiensMLT (Twitter)
In the past season, Caufield starred as a guest on The Raw Knuckles Podcast, whose host is Chris Nilan, an American from Massachusetts. In this podcast, Caufield revealed that he wanted to learn some French and Nilan agreed to give him some lessons. Some of these lessons involved Nilan teaching him how to swear in French.
Not that learning the French language is a requirement, Caufield wanted to learn in order to make the effort to be a part of the Montreal community and culture. He is not the only player to want to learn the language, some of the other players have taken up learning the language as well.
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