Cole Caufield’s spot on NHL.com’s latest top 50 list says a lot about his production, but maybe not enough about what made his season so dangerous.
The Montreal Canadiens winger checked in at No. 31 in the site’s ranking of the NHL’s best players right now, and the case for him leaned heavily on two numbers: 51 goals in the regular season and 13 points in 19 playoff games. Those are the headline stats, and they’re big ones. But they don’t tell the whole story of how Caufield drove results for Montreal.
The part that stands out most is the way he scored. Caufield did not pad his total with empty-netters.
None of his goals came into an empty cage. Instead, he piled up goals that changed games: 12 game-winners, which led the league, and five overtime goals, also first in the NHL.
On top of that, 28 of his goals were go-ahead markers, a total that ties the second-highest mark in league history. Pavel Bure also had 28 in 1999-00, while Brett Hull owns the record with 39 from 1990-91, the same season he scored 86 goals, the third-highest total in league history.
That’s rare company for a 25-year-old who has spent part of his career having to answer questions about his size. Montreal was fortunate to still have him on the board at 15th overall in the 2019 draft, and his value has only grown since then.
The argument for Caufield isn’t just that he scores a lot. It’s that his goals arrive at the exact moments that tilt games.
His playoff production came with a caveat, though. During locker room clear-out day, Caufield was blunt about it and said he “sucked” in the postseason.
The reason was straightforward: 10 of his 13 points came on the power play, which meant 77% of his playoff offense came with the man advantage. In the regular season, by comparison, 33% of his points came on the power play.
Caufield clearly wasn’t satisfied with that split, even if the numbers still helped the Canadiens.
That self-criticism is part of what makes his season such an interesting one to watch going forward. He’s already the first Canadien to show up on NHL.com’s list this year, and the next names to track are captain Nick Suzuki and defenseman Lane Hutson.
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