Montreal Canadiens: Cole Caufield is starting to emerge as a true sniper

Oct 12, 2022; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield (22) plays the puck as Toronto Maple Leafs forward Calle Jarnkrok (19) pursues during the second period at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 12, 2022; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield (22) plays the puck as Toronto Maple Leafs forward Calle Jarnkrok (19) pursues during the second period at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

Montreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield is starting to emerge as a true sniper within the organization. The right-handed shooting forward has continued to put pucks on net and find the back of the net.

There is plenty of reasons to be excited about what Caufield has done so far in 2022-23. The Montreal Canadiens bringing in Martin St. Louis as head coach has been great for Caufield. He has been able to mentor him, and it is showing.

St. Louis being a Hall of Famer who is undersized, has only brought help and benefit to Caufield, helping him find ways to get the job done. He’s helped Caufield continue to develop his craft, and the results have been exceptional.

Montreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield is emerging as a true sniper.

He was able to kick things into gear last year when St. Louis was hired, and it has continued into the 2022-23 season. Last season he managed 23 goals and 20 assists for 43 total points over 67 games played.

He has picked up from where he left off so far this season, where he has managed 12 points over 11 games played. He has seven goals and five assists for his 12 points. But it’s more about the fact that Caufield continues to shoot the puck and find ways to get the job done.

The winger has posted a 16.3% shooting percentage so far, which is up from prior seasons. While this will likely even out some more over the year, this season, he has not been afraid to put pucks on net and consistently finds ways to get it done.

Caufield has produced 43 shots on 67 attempts with a 64.2% Thru%. The point is Caufield has found ways to improve so far in 2022-23. He is scoring and finding the back of the net at a great rate.

There’s plenty to like about Caufield’s performance. Now the hope is that he can continue this level of performance for the entire season. The top line itself continues to get it done for the Habs. So the hope should be high once again for Caufield to keep being great.

But, beyond that, this strong performance is continuing to make it seem like there should be extension talks starting up. After this season, Caufield is a restricted free agent this off-season, but starting to kick the tires seems like a good idea.

However, the Habs cap situation could make things interesting. Keep an eye on Caufield and how he performs this season, as it could fuel his extension talks.