The Montreal Canadiens suffered a major blow when it was announced that Cole Caufield would have season-ending surgery on his shoulder. Now Habs fans know why he made the decision to end his season.
“This happened the first time (on Dec. 23 in a 4-2 loss at the Dallas Stars), and I just had an awkward fall,” Caufield said. “I kind of put [the shoulder] back in myself a couple of seconds later and it wasn’t too bad.”
He then re-aggravated the injury on January 3rd.
“That time was a little more painful, but our medical staff has done a great job of doing some rehab work on it and making me feel 100 percent,” Caufield added. “For me, I didn’t want to stop playing. I had a couple tests done to look at it more clearly, but, in the end, one more fall and it could have been even worse, so the risk factor for that is hard to face.”
Caufield was the leading scorer for Montreal so far this season. The Canadiens star had racked up 16 goals and 22 assists in 46 games.
The 2022-23 season has treated Montreal kindly. The Canadiens are at the bottom of the Atlantic Division and will have a difficult road if they wish to make the playoffs. Caufield stated that if the Canadiens had a better chance to make the playoffs, he likely would have kept playing.
“For sure, if we were in a playoff spot, I’d put it out of my mind, and I’d still be playing,” Caufield said. “I feel this is the best decision, long term. It’s hard to come to that conclusion, but as I said, it’s about the long term, and it’ll all work out.”
This means the Canadiens will need some players to pick up the slack. Habs fans can keep hope as Nick Suzuki is having an impressive season for Montreal. In 50 games, the captain has 16 goals and 22 assists.
But the absence of Caufield will be a permanent reminder this season of how difficult things have been for Montreal. The legendary franchise has a long way to go to return to the top of the Eastern Conference.
