Kent Hughes sent a silent (but very clear) message to Cole Caufield

The Canadiens have officially reached the halfway point of the season, and it was fitting that Kent Hughes addressed the media this morning to give his assessment of the campaign so far.

Missed the GM’s comments? I invite you to read colleague Charles-Alexis Brisebois’ article for the highlights.

Kent Hughes commented on several issues, including Cole Caufield’s somewhat disappointing performance since the start of the season. The Canadiens’ general manager was keen to point out that there’s no need to panic right now, because the sample size is small…

But he also said that his young forward’s shooting percentage is down from last year.

Is it bad luck? Is there “something” in his shooting? Certainly, efficiency is one aspect of his drop in goal production. – Kent Hughes

Hughes’ comments on Caufield can be found around the 2nd minute of the following video:

Kent Hughes’ comments from his mid season presser

– Suzuki progressing. Becoming a better 200 foot player

– Caufield’s shooting % is down. Hughes looked at shooting % stats last wk when Caufield had 11 goals & his shooting % ranked around 110th in NHL among 11 goal scorers

– Tony Marinaro (@TonyMarinaro) January 15, 2024

After 42 games played this season, Cole Caufield has a shooting efficiency rate of 7.8%.

Before his injury last season, he had a 16.5% shooting efficiency rate after playing 46 games…

The difference is noticeable, and Hughes’ words are interesting because he knows his player can give him more.

But instead of throwing him under the bus, the Habs GM opted for a slightly more delicate technique: he made it clear to Caufield that he expected more from him, and did so with the utmost respect.

Kent Hughes is neither disappointed nor angry. But sometimes, that’s what it takes to make someone realize things. And there’s no doubt that Caufield listened to his GM this morning and got the message.

Now it’s up to Martin St-Louis and the coaching staff to put him in a position to succeed. Caufield has a (big) part to play in this too, and the trend has to change because it’s not working at the moment.

He needs to find a way to be more involved and put on his work boots to get into the pay zones. It’s nice to play on the periphery and take shots from outside the box… But the NHL isn’t the NCAA either.

He should unlock in time if he starts doing things the right way. And at the salary he earns per season, he needs to do things the right way.

Breaking news

– Lane Hutson was at the Bruins game this afternoon.

– Wow!

This is wild

( @C_AdamskiTrib)
pic.twitter.com/FNMqiQgmum

– PFF (@PFF) January 15, 2024

– That would be cool.

It’s not the same when NHL players aren’t around, after all pic.twitter.com/CAQKpolEOG

– DansLesCoulisses (@DLCoulisses) January 15, 2024

– Sidney Crosby, a real machine.

– Will Drouin be booed tonight?