Major turn of events for Cole Caufield and it would completely change the plans of the Montreal Canadiens

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MarcO
June 1, 2023 (9:56 PM)

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In the last few minutes on TVA Sports, Jean-Charles Lajoie and Tony Marinaro discussed the Cole Caufield case, and there were several very surprising statements.

Marinaro notably dropped a piece of information that could really change everything:

"The Canadiens, from what I hear, are not really interested in giving Caufield more money than their captain, Nick Suzuki. They want to respect a certain hierarchy in the team and make sure the captain, who is also the best player, is the highest paid."

- Tony Marinaro

Wow, so this could explain why the negotiations are dragging on.

Kent Hughes and the Canadiens are reportedly trying hard to keep Caufield's "AAV" (Average Annual Value) under the $7.875 million per season that captain Nick Suzuki earns.

However, Caufield's camp is certainly aiming for more.

A scenario that would change everything for the Canadiens.

In response to this statement from Marinaro, JiC (Jean-Charles Lajoie) mentioned this:

"Let's suppose we're moving towards a four-year contract, that means Montreal has three years to win, because in 2027, Caufield will have left [via free agency]. This option would force the Canadiens to completely change their plan..."

In any case, it continues to be a talking point, but if Caufield signs for four seasons, it's clear that it could change everything.

And if Kent Hughes really wants to keep his salary under $7.875 million, he will obviously have to accept a medium-term contract.

In short, we continue to follow this, but it seems to be getting a lot more complicated than we hoped.

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