Serge Savard criticizes Caufield for not being as dangerous as his first year

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Elias Adaime
August 15, 2024 (9:42)

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We all know that Serge Savard doesn't mince his words, and it's the young Montreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield who has just learned this lesson.

He doesn't hesitate to make strong statements, and his latest one, hopefully, will motivate the person concerned, which is Cole Caufield.

Present on Tuesday at Le Mirage Golf Club for the 5th edition of the Serge Savard Invitational, the former player and GM of the Canadiens was willing to answer questions from the media. He didn't hold back when he talked about the young number 22 of the Canadiens.

Serge Savard doesn't seem impressed by Cole Caufield

See his exact statement.

"There was one who excited me a lot two years ago, but that was a bit less the case this year. When he [Cole Caufield] joined the Canadiens, I found him so dangerous every time he touched the puck, but I found him less dangerous during the last season. A guy like Caufield needs to really take up space on the power play."

- Serge Savard

It seems that, in the eyes of the "Senator," the 65 points, including 28 goals, from the young forward in 2023-2024 are not enough. There's still a little something missing for Caufield to become, in his eyes, the constant threat on the ice that he once was.

Kent Hughes' Work

As usual, Savard didn't miss the opportunity to subtly criticize Marc Bergevin. He stated that he likes what the new management of the club is doing and thinks that it will eventually pay off.

"I believe that in the last two drafts, we've done a good job, but time will tell us that," added the former Canadiens defenseman. "It will eventually pay off. The draft is important, and I think we're on the right track."

"It's been about ten years that we've been saying it's coming, and we have good young players," Mr. Savard added, somewhat disillusioned. "Now, I think that in recent years, we are better structured in terms of the organization."

- Serge Savard

What the Canadiens Are Missing

Despite his appreciation of the recent work by the Gorton/Hughes duo, Savard finds that something is still missing from the team, and that's size. He thinks that the Florida Panthers' model should be followed and that the Canadiens should try to find more players like Juraj Slafkovsky.

"If I have a small concern with the Canadiens, based on what I observe, it's that over the years, we will need to be bigger physically. That's the model the Florida Panthers [recent Stanley Cup winners] presented last season. We're heading in that direction, but for now, the size is still a bit small. A player like [Juraj] Slafkovsky brings a different dimension."

- Serge Savard

Savard isn't entirely wrong, as according to the site Elite Prospect, the Canadiens ranked 30th in height (6 feet 1 inch) and 7th in weight (200 lbs).

However, the former GM overlooks, as Médérick Lefebvre from the site DLC reminds us, that the Panthers have quite a core of players (Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart, Anton Lundell, and Carter Verhaeghe)...

Many fans responded in the comments following Serge Savard's remarks.

Credit: TVA Sports
Serge Savard espère voir le Canadien se grossir un peu