Cole Caufield just made a statement that worries Montreal Canadiens fans and it concerns directly his next contract

PUBLICATION

Elias Adaime
April 26, 2023 (9:35)

SHARE THIS STORY

As you know, even though we believed it would be settled by now, the biggest issue with the Montreal Canadiens is still the signing of Cole Caufield.

He will be a restricted free agent this summer, and time is running out for Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton.

Some even suggest that the matter is not progressing at the expected pace and that Caufield's stance is not reassuring.

Personally, we are not too worried at the moment, but it's up to you to judge. It's true that if it were easy and going well, it would have been settled a long time ago.

According to journalist Eric Engels, Caufield will demand more money than Nick Suzuki on a long-term contract.

Caufield recently stated that, although he thinks about the team, many factors come into play, such as family and life in general (see at the bottom of the article).

The journalist interprets this as a sign that number 22 has no intention of leaving millions on the table to sign long-term with the Canadiens.

I believe it's reasonable to assume, based on everything Caufield has said, that he has no intention of leaving millions on the table to sign long-term with the Canadiens. This only reinforces the idea that Kent Hughes would be able to perform miracles if he managed to convince Caufield to accept a smaller contract than Nick Suzuki's or even a contract similar to Matt Boldy's.

In addition, Caufield has the best agent in the NHL in Pat Brisson.

Unfortunately, he will not be doing any favors for Kent Hughes, and everything indicates that Caufield's contract, if it is long-term, will be above eight million dollars per season.

Otherwise, there is always the option of a bridge contract to save some money in the short term, but it could hurt in the long run.

A case to follow.

To see Caufield's original statement, as reported by Marco Normandin:

Of course, you think about the idea of accepting a lower salary to help the team. But at the end of the day, this is about you. You're trying to put the team first, but in the long term, many factors come into play, such as family and life in general.

- Cole Caufield

This is just one example, but there are a few others. However, let's emphasize that we understand him 100% and that we would do exactly the same thing as him if we were in his place.

Credit: HABSolument Fan and via Rumeursdetransaction.com