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Cole Caufield vs. the sixth pick: Mathias Brunet’s suggestion
Credit: Photo by Vitor Munhoz/NHLI via Getty Images

Sometimes, suggestions about the Canadiens surface on social networks. These aren’t rumours, they’re just ideas for fun.

And yesterday, Mathias Brunet did just that on BPM Sports.

In his column of the day with Martin Lemay on BPM Sports, the journalist from La Presse took Pierre LeBrun’s article on the Salt Lake City club as a starting point, and wondered whether the team would take on a big contract. A good big contract, I mean.

The question he raised: would Utah want to give the sixth overall pick in the next auction to the Habs if the returner was none other than Cole Caufield? A more minor point could be added: Caufield and the sixth pick are the foundation.

Of course, there’s a parallel to be drawn between Ottawa’s 2022 Alex DeBrincat deal (even though DeBrincat wasn’t signed long-term at the time) and Brunet’s idea.

It’s an interesting question, since Caufield surely has excellent market value and can clearly help a team. However, he’s not as hard to get out of Montreal, in my eyes, as captain Nick Suzuki or Juraj Slafkovsky might be.

Obviously, trading a Caufield (who clearly loves Montreal every hour of the day) would delay the Habs’ winning streak a bit. However, the Habs are still thinking long-term, and the question is: what’s worth more?

I think it would be difficult to answer that question (which is hypothetical and for fun, remember) until San Jose, Chicago, Anaheim and Columbus have chosen their players in the next auction.

That way, the Habs can see if they want to draft five and six players in a row. If worthwhile prospects are available, it could be worth the risk.

Imagine for a moment that Cayden Lindstrom and a top defenseman in the eyes of the Habs (who would become the best defenseman on the Habs’ roster) were available after the top-4. This would make it even easier for the Habs to trade one or more defensemen for a top-6 forward.

So, at volume, you replace Caufield with a big forward, improve your defense and add a Cayden Lindstrom with the pick you already had on hand.

Of course, I’m not saying that this is the right thing to do. If we push the analysis, we must also mention that the Habs would be giving up a player who produces right now and who may be small, but who can score. And the Habs don’t have many of those.

It’s a good (hypothetical, mind you) question from Mathias Brunet, and it’s no coincidence that Martin Lemay took forever to answer it.


In bursts

– Quite a story.

– The subject of his potential redemption never dies.

– I can imagine.

– Connor Bedard’s teammates are worried about him. [TVAS]

– Reminder: four teams are within six wins of the Stanley Cup.

(Credit: NHL.com)

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