Montreal Canadiens: Is The Time Right to Send Cole Caufield to Laval Rocket?

The Montreal Canadiens season is going miserably and is certain to end without a playoff game being played.

It is a shame that the team has dropped off so quickly after winning 13 playoff games in 2021 and knowing around Halloween 2021 that they would not be playing a single game in the 2022 playoffs.

With most of the second half of the season still to play, the Canadiens need to start thinking about the long term goals of the franchise rather than the season in front of them.

One thing they might need to consider is sending Cole Caufield back to the Laval Rocket. They made this decision already once this season, when Caufield was struggling early on. Caufield went down to the Rocket for six games, scored two goals and five points, and was then called up once again.

He was called up more so due to injuries than anything else, but he did play well in the AHL.

The 21 year old right winger could use a little more time in the AHL. With the Canadiens finally getting closer to healthy up front, the time is right to send Caufield back down for a stint with the Rocket.

The Habs first round pick in 2019, Caufield has scored just one goal this season and scoring goals is what made him a first round pick.

Caufield and Joel Armia were unavailable to the team yesterday as they just got out of Covid protocol on Friday. They were stuck in Wisconsin because they tested positive in the United States and were not allowed back into Canada until Friday. But their flight was delayed several times so they didn’t get back until quite late.

Whether they play today or not is still up in the air, but Brendan Gallagher and Paul Byron are returning from lengthy stints on the injured reserve. Finally, the team is starting to get healthy up front.

This should provide them with a chance to send Caufield down and let him stay with the Rocket for a while. A goal scoring thrives on confidence and scoring once in 26 games this season at the NHL level has to have crushed Caufield’s. An extended turn with the Rocket would allow him to find that confidence once again before being called up for good.

The Canadiens also are off for eight days after playing the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight. In that time, the Rocket play three games on the road, starting with a pair of games against the Utica Comets on Wednesday and Friday before taking on the Belleville Senators on Saturday.

The Canadiens will surely need more reinforcements in the lineup after the trade deadline. But that isn’t until March 21st and the Rocket play 23 games before then.

Letting Caufield play the month of February and most of March in the AHL to find his game again and gain confidence at the pro level would be in his best interest for the long term.

Taking one step back now would allow Caufield to leap forward in future seasons as a confident, goal scoring winger. With the playoffs already sure to be missed, there is no need to keep Caufield in the NHL hoping he will find his game.