The Montreal Canadiens wasted no time taking care of arguably their most important offseason task on Monday, signing sniper Cole Caufield to an eight-year contract extension worth $7.85 million annually.
The 22-year-old had just finished his entry-level deal with the team. In the 2022-23 season, Caufield posted 26 goals in 46 games before a shoulder injury ended his season.
This kind of contract following a player’s entry-level deal has become common around the NHL, and is something for bettors at Ontario sportsbooks to consider. That is a change from recent times, when two- to three-year bridge deals were more popular for years.
Big Money Now Could Become Bargain Later
The contract projects as an overpay early with the potential to become a massive bargain in the final years of the deal. Montreal locked captain Nick Suzuki up to a similar deal last offseason and now the Habs have two young core members signed for the foreseeable future. St. Louis also followed a similar model last offseason, paying young forwards Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou big money on long term deals instead of fighting for a cheaper bridge deal.
With Caufield’s salary now locked in, OntarioBets – the home for analysis of Ontario sports betting apps – looked at current players at a similar price tag to see how Caufield compares. The players below are listed in order on point shares in the 2022-23 season, according to data from HockeyReference.com and Spotrac.com.
Caufield Compared to Others In His New Price Range
Robertson, Hughes Stand Out in This Salary Bracket
Two names stand out from the above list, and they are Jason Robertson and Jack Hughes. Montreal – which has +20000 odds at Caesars Sportsbook Ontario to win the Stanley Cup in 2024 – will hope Caufield levels up in a similar way.
Robertson signed a bridge deal with the Stars and will no doubt be in line for a big raise in a couple of years. Hughes took a similar deal as Caufield and is now considered a massive bargain for the Devils.
Caufield is not yet at the level of these players and plays a different style, but that kind of output would be the ceiling for him on this contract and the Habs would be ecstatic with that. Kuznetsov is on the decline and Caufield should be worth well more than him this coming year. Svechnikov and Fiala are a few years older than Caufield but Caufield’s production is close to theirs, especially Svechnikov.
Svechnikov had fewer goals for the Hurricanes than Caufield did for Montreal this season – in more games – but both players should take another leap forward in 2024.
Caufueld a Key Cog in Montreal Rebuild
Suzuki is probably the closest comparable on the list, both in terms of age and current level of play. If he and Caufield continue to progress at the rate they have, the deals will look solid for Montreal.
The Canadiens will look to them to help reach the heights of their Stanley Cup final appearance in 2021, when they lost in five games to the Tampa Bay Lightning. In this year’s Cup final, Vegas leads the best-of-seven series 2-0 over Florida. The Golden Knights have -500 odds at BetMGM Sportsbook Ontario to win their first title; the Panthers are at +400 to win four of the next five games and rally to capture the Cup.
Caufield showed tons of promise once new Habs coach Martin St Louis took over last season, and the young forward has the ability to put up 50 goals in the NHL. His 82-game pace last year was for 46 goals. His role with the team is to score goals, and he does it with extreme regularity.
With the salary cap likely to rise in a big way in a couple of years and his performance also likely to rise, Caufield’s deal stands to be a significant bargain in no more than three seasons. With Montreal still in the beginning stages of a rebuild, the team can afford to slightly overpay in the present, making this a perfect contract for the team to gain flexibility down the road and for the player to lock down significant money early in his career.
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