NHL analyst Stu Cowan predicts $62,800,000 Canadiens star to have personal best goal-scoring season

Montreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield scored a career-high 37 goals last season. NHL analyst Stu Cowan believes Caufield can reach 40 goals next season during his appearance on The Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro.

Caufield, who has been signed on an eight-year, $62.8 million contract since 2023, has increased his goal total every season.

"I think so... 26 goals in 2022-23, 28 in 2023-24, then 37 last year. So 40 isn't a big stretch for him to hit this season," Cowan said. "Even more importantly, though, the way he's become a 200-foot player over the last couple of years with the help of Martin St. Louis, plus player (+9 rating) last season. You watch him, he works as hard in the defensive zone as he does in the offensive zone."

Cowan also noted that Caufield is now more than a one-dimensional scorer. The young winger has become stronger in all areas of the game. Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis has focused on developing Caufield’s play away from the puck. Cowan said:

"I remember Martin St. Louis saying, "You know, I'm not going to teach him how to score goals. He already knows how to do that, but I'm going to teach him to be better away from the puck, and teach him how to maybe get into spots where he can score more goals."

This has allowed Caufield to find better scoring chances. It has also made him more effective as a complete player.

"He scores more goals in the dirty areas now than he has in the past, which is going to help him also," Cowan added. "It's not just relying on that big shot, and again, on the power play, with the addition of (Ivan) Demidov and (Noah) Dobson, that's going to help the overall offense from the team.

"And you have to figure that's enough to get three more goals than he got last season and then hit the 40-goal mark."

Cole Caufield has been important to Canadiens' offensive core

At 24, Cole Caufield finished last season with 70 points, including 33 assists. He tied for 13th in the NHL in goals. In the playoffs, he added three goals and one assist in five games. The Canadiens lost to Washington in the first round. Caufield still showed consistency, generating 24 shots in the series.

The Canadiens continue to build around their young core. Caufield plays on the top line with Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky. Offseason additions such as Ivan Demidov and Noah Dobson should provide more offensive support.