Habs' Cole Caufield's NCAA Season Comes to an End

While the Montreal Canadiens season hangs in COVID-suspension, reinforcements are on the way.

On Friday, general manager Marc Bergevin made a trade for Eric Staal from the Buffalo Sabres. The NCAA's Wisconsin Badgers were also given a surprising early exit from their playoffs, losing in the first round - meaning top prospect Cole Caufield could soon be making his debut.

Caufield is the heavy favourite for the Hobey Baker Award as the top National Collegiate Athletic Association men's ice hockey player. The Canadiens first-round pick (15th overall) in 2019 has a "tantalizing scoring upside." In over 30 years, only ten under-20 players in the NCAA scored 30 or more goals. Caufield joined that list this year. In 31 games with the Badgers, he put up 30 goals and 52 points. In December/January, Caufield scored two goals at the World Junior tournament and had five points on route to a Team USA Gold Medal victory.

Wisconsin Badgers coach Tony Granato, who was shocked after his team got upset by Bemidji St., said Cole Caufield had one of the best seasons ever seen in the NCAA. I asked how Caufield delivered “above and beyond” what Granato asked him to do. Granato said: pic.twitter.com/1Il4r7qZEG
— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) March 26, 2021

The Badgers had been the top-ranked team in their region all season long and were widely expected to advance to the Frozen Four tournament in April. Instead, they were upset by the Bemidji State Beavers, opening the door to Caufield signing a pro contract with the Canadiens.

However, when asked shortly after the game Friday, Caufield didn't say whether he would join the team right away.

"I haven't even thought about that yet," he told the assembled media. "Our season just ended. I can't even think about that yet. I need to take a few days and figure it out from there. This is a tough thing to deal with, losing the team you're a part of."

Adding Caufield to the lineup would be like a deadline addition without any subtractions for Bergevin. His scoring would be welcomed on a Canadiens team ranked 16th in NHL offence. At 5-on-5, the team ranks 21st.

GM Bergevin has said he has a plan for Caufield turning pro but hasn't admitted what that plan is.

Cole Caufield's .967 goals per game this season ends up being the highest by any D1 men's @collegehockey player in the 21st Century. https://t.co/7vFcu3WLdj
— Nate Wells (@gopherstate) March 26, 2021

"He has progressed a lot in the last year, but again it's too early to tell you what the plans are, but I expect him to turn pro after this year," Bergevin said. "Where can he play once his season's over? That remains to be seen."

If he doesn't join the Canadiens, he would likely join their American Hockey League affiliate in Laval.

The Habs are expected to return to the ice Monday after having four games postponed in the wake of Joel Armeia and Jasperi Kotkaniemi being placed on the COVID protocol list. Bergevin has confirmed that one of the players tested positive for a variant of the virus, while the other was a close contact. The team's return will depend on the results of the daily COVID-19 tests to be conducted over the next several days.

On Friday, the NHL announced an agreement with the Canadian government to reduce quarantine times for incoming players from the US from 14 days to seven.