Two years ago, almost to the day, I found myself leaving the Bell Centre press box by myself on my way out of the rink. The Canadiens had lost to the Philadelphia Flyers in overtime thanks to an Ivan Provorov overtime winner and it effectively brought the Keith Kinkaid era (remember him?) to an end. It was also the seventh loss of an eight-game winless streak — the first of two that year.
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I walked to the elevator and realized the Canadiens’ mascot, Youppi! was walking in front of me. He didn’t have the normal pep in his step whenever you’d see him walk around the Bell Centre. Instead, he looked exasperated. He keeled over and put his fuzzy paws on his knees.
Two years after the day Youppi looked to the ground and asked God why his team was putting him through so much stress, I imagine he might be feeling the same these days. Canadiens fans feel his pain, some more than others.
One source of it, lately, has been the anxiety of the team’s handling of young players like Cole Caufield.
Over the last three games, including Thursday night’s 4-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche, Caufield’s time on ice has fluctuated and some have taken notice. He averaged nearly 15 minutes a night through his first 14 games of the year. Two games ago, he played 10:46 in a 6-3 win over the Penguins. On Tuesday, he played 12:05. Both nights, he was no longer in a top-six role and was, instead, playing alongside Arturri Lehkonen and Nick Suzuki.
At practice, ahead of Thursday night’s game against the Colorado Avalanche, the rookie found himself skating on the fourth line alongside Michael Pezzetta and Mathieu Perreault. Caufield did get power play time, albeit on the team’s second unit. All this came despite the Canadiens losing Brendan Gallagher as he entered COVID-19 protocol.
And you better believe people, fans and even media outside the Montreal market, didn’t like that.
So a team that has long been maligned for ruining young players has Nick Suzuki playing between Artturi Lehkonen and Jake Evans and Cole Caufield on the fourth line tonight. If Dominique Ducharme is actually trying to get himself fired, he's doing a great job.
— Ken Campbell (@Ken_Campbell27) December 2, 2021
Cole Caufield on a 4th line is not development, it's exposing that you have no idea how to develop a young player.
— Jeff Gorton 💭 (@AbsCoverage) December 2, 2021
‘if cole caufield is going to play to get to the fourth line you might as well send him back to Laval’ WELL IMAGINE IF HIM AND THE OTHER YOUNG PLAYERS WERENT SHAFTED TO GET NEXT TO NO ICE TIME / MAYBE / THEYD HAVE A BETTER CHANCE TO PRODUCE
— reno🥅 (@hydr0chIoric) December 3, 2021
There was a method to Dominique Ducharme’s madness Thursday night. He wanted to keep some of his combinations that had some success, such as the Jonathan Drouin-Ryan Poehling-Joel Armia line which he felt finished Tuesday night’s game against Vancouver very well or the Tyler Toffoli-Christian Dvorak-Josh Anderson line which put up some points against Pittsburgh. Ducharme also needed a line that could go up against Nathan MacKinnon’s unit, hence Nick Suzuki centred a line with Lehkonen and Jake Evans, two players who’ve been counted on for their defensive play. That’s what led Caufield to being bumped down to the fourth line.
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Despite the perceived demotion, he made the most of his opportunity. Caufield’s time-on-ice shot right back up to 16:37 — the fourth-most he’s played this season — with nearly four and a half minutes on the power play. It was with the man advantage where Caufield assisted on his team’s lone goal of the night, a Ben Chiarot shot from the blue line. It was Caufield’s first career point on the power play (he had a power play assist in the playoffs).
“The first part of the game, I really liked Cole’s step. He was dynamic,” Ducharme said. “Obviously with the puck, that’s what he needs to do to be effective. There is work to do without the puck, but I think it’s just normal for a young player. There are ups and downs on that side, but it’s part of the process, too.”
Caufield is going through the growing pains of a full NHL season. And while putting him on a top-six line, or alongside the team’s best players, would give him — in theory — the best opportunities to produce, it would come at the expense of players who’ve produced much better than he has to this point in the year. His development is important, and you could argue his development being successful might be most crucial of any prospect in the organization, but imagine explaining to a player like Josh Anderson or Brendan Gallagher that they can’t play in the top-six at the expense of a rookie who is trying to find his footing in the league. It isn’t an easy sell, especially when Anderson and Gallagher have produced more than Caufield has, despite his teammates knowing the potential of what he can do.
If Caufield wants more ice time or more opportunities to play in the top-six, he might have to get it in Laval. It could easily be his next stop once the Canadiens get Gallagher and Mike Hoffman back in the lineup. As much as some might want to see Caufield in an NHL lineup, having him play on a losing team while failing to put up points won’t really do wonders for his confidence or his development.
In the meantime, he’ll need to continue to bring energy on a fourth line and try to maintain and uplift his confidence while holding onto the puck in the games he has now. Caufield having the opportunity to play at even strength and on special teams, while not drawing his opponent’s best players, means his time on the fourth line won’t be as much of a penance as it could be perceived. If it still means a trip to Laval is in the cards, it’s in the best for his development.
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It’s all in the hopes of the Canadiens moving past the days of fans, and even their mascot, feeling tired, incensed and bordering on apathetic.
Now let’s get to those pluses and minuses.
Pluses
Through 25 games this season, Lekhonen has three goals and 10 points. Those three goals have come in his last six games. In 47 last season, he had seven goals and 13 points. He’s come through, when he can, as a secondary scorer for the Canadiens. A bright spot in what’s otherwise been a dark year for the Canadiens.
Poehling continues to impress by doing the little things while in the lineup. Working in dirty areas, trying to create turnovers, and getting a goal every now and again like he did against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday. The spotlight isn’t burning on him as much as when he first came in, and he’s quietly putting together a decent stretch of games.
Could he be more consistent offensively for the Canadiens? Sure. But he had himself a big three-point night against the Penguins last Saturday, a bit similar to his previous three-point outburst against the Nashville Predators the Saturday prior, and we won’t ignore that.
Minuses
Petry’s play hasn’t gotten better this season, and we’re at the point where his own fans are booing him.
There's a small section of fans behind me in the press gallery who've started to boo Jeff Petry every time he touches the puck. This came after he lost the puck twice on the man advantage.
— Julian McKenzie (@jkamckenzie) December 3, 2021
Chris Wideman
We’d look at Chris Wideman in a slightly different light if his defensive miscues were offset by consistent offensively dynamic play. Instead, the Canadiens have to put up with mistakes like these…
For a 6'4" guy, Nichushkin sure is is a short(-handed) king 👑
Second of the season!pic.twitter.com/mC9bsTEW7g
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) December 3, 2021
…and him having two shots on goal over his last five games. What could’ve been a time for Wideman to reset or at least clear the puck from harm’s way ended up turning into a nightmare situation for him.
Nick Suzuki
He has had to deal with some tough assignments at centre, including Nathan MacKinnon on Thursday night. But his lack of production over the last 10 games has been cause for concern. A lone assist over that time.
(Top photo: Vitor Munhoz / NHLI via Getty Images)