Montreal Canadiens: Could Cole Caufield Break The Rocket’s All-Time Goals Record?

The Montreal Canadiens haven’t had a 40-goal scorer since Vincent Damphousse in 1992-93, and you would have to go all the way back to the 1989-90 season for the last player to score 50 goals or more, Stephane Richer scored 51. Throughout the Canadiens’ storied franchise, nobody has been able to break Maurice Richard’s goals record of 544. Guy Lafleur came closest with 518, and behind him is Jean Beliveau and his 507 goals.

Nobody did it like Richard, bringing the Montreal Forum faithful to their feet in anticipation each time he got the puck and headed toward the neutral zone. If you could freeze time and take an action shot of the crowd, you would be able to feel the excitement. Richard’s speed, and eye for the net made him a nightmare for opposing goaltenders, and his drive to score never slowed.

The Rocket has seen many Habs goalscorers try and match his goal record, and while they have come close, the record remains intact. Scoring 500 goals is no small feat, and it will take a special player to score 40 goals in a season, so it’s a tall task, to say the least. They don’t grow on trees and require very steady scouting and drafting to acquire one unless they hit free agency.

On the current Canadiens roster, one name stands out from the rest, and for obvious reasons. Now, suggesting that a player will score 500-plus goals is a big prediction to make, so simply put, Cole Caufield has the highest potential to do it. Should he reach those levels of goalscoring, it will require longevity, health and consistency. Caufield has scored at every level and was on pace to score 40 in 2022-23 before he was sidelined with a shoulder ailment that required surgery

Right now, Cole Caufield is 22 years old and is set to start the first year of his eight-year pact with the Canadiens, in 2023-24. He has, at minimum eight years in Montreal, and at the end of his contract he will be 30, which will leave him still within a good three to four years to continue scoring. We all long for a player to score with longevity like Ovechkin, but he is a rare breed – we will hope for the same for Caufield – that he can score at a high level until 35 years old.

Personally, I believe he has the potential to score 50 goals, and more than once. But let’s assume he scores at a 45-goal pace until he is 30, that would equal 360 goals. A decline in scoring is very likely, so if he dips to say 35 goals a season from 30 onward. He would reach 535 goals by the end of his 35-year-old season. It’s not an impossible task for an elite sniper, but it would require Caufield to have a couple 50 goal seasons or add a few more 40-goal seasons in his prime.

I love Maurice Richard, he is perhaps my favourite Canadiens player of all time, but as Wayne Gretzky said about Ovechkin potentially breaking his 894 goal record, “It’s good for the game.” Records are meant to be broken, and with each old record broken, the new record just enriches the Canadiens’ storied record books. Yvan Cournoyer called Caufield his roadrunner, a compliment of the highest esteem. Caufield has a wicked shot like Guy Lafleur did, and he is speedy and tenacious just as Cournoyer was.

I hope that he does score 50, heck 60 would be beautiful, as would 545 goals. But the most beautiful thing is, we get to watch Caufield pursue The Rocket’s record. What an intriguing piece to the Canadiens’ rebuild, and a superstar in the making. Number 22 will look to show shades of Number 9, and etch his name into the Canadiens all-time goals leaders list, alongside Montreal Canadiens legends.

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