Cole Caufield has just surpassed the great Henri Richard in a category that speaks volumes

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Jeff Drouin
April 9, 2022 (10:01)

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Since Martin St-Louis took over as interim head coach of the Habs, Cole Caufield has been blossoming.

After a difficult start to the season, where he only scored one goal in 30 games under Dominique Ducharme, the young forward has literally been on fire since his departure.

Thanks to his performance Thursday night in New Jersey, with a goal and an assist in his team's win over the Devils, Caufiled now has 29 points in his last 26 games and is proving to many pundits that he could turn out to be the steal of the 2019 draft.

Interesting fact: As reported by Cimon Asselin of Habsolumentfan.com, Caufield is currently 25th in NHL scoring as of February 9. He passes Steven Stamkos, David Pastrnak, Teuvo Teravainen, John Tavares and Nikita Kucherov among others.

But now, with his goal on Thursday night, the Canadiens' forward has moved ahead of a former legend of the organization.

With his 0.31 goals-per-game average this season, Caufield ranks eighth in team history for goals-per-game average for a rookie ahead of the legendary Henri Richard, who maintained a 0.30 average in the 1955-56 season.

Still, not bad to be ahead of the Rocket's brother!

For your information, the best average belongs to Bernard Geofrion, aka Boom Boom, with 0.45 goals per game in 1951-52. In recent Habs history, Brendan Gallagher ranks fifth, having scored 15 goals in 44 games during the lockout-shortened season of 2012-13.

Imagine if Caufield had maintained his pace, since St. Louis arrived, for an entire season. He would be way out in first place with a 0.55 GAA.

It's still too early to say that Caufield will be one of the best goal scorers in Habs history, but you have to admit that he's on his way to becoming an elite player in the NHL before too long.