BUFFALO | Kent Hughes seeks to break an old prejudice, that some NHL players don’t want to come and play in Montreal. He found a choice ambassador in Cole Caufield.
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Hughes settled a big case before tackling the many interviews with the top prospects for the draft at the NHL’s evaluation camp (combines). He rooted Cole Caufield in Montreal for the next eight seasons by offering him a pact of 62.8 million (7.85 million on average).
At his meeting with reporters at KeyBank Arena in Buffalo, Hughes slipped a few words for the first time on this new agreement.
The general manager of the Canadian confirmed the information of Pat Brisson, Caufield’s agent, that the contract of captain Nick Suzuki served as a ceiling at 7.875 million.
“That was a factor for us in that context,” Hughes said. He is a player coming out of his rookie contract. He signed a long-term contract. Data will always change. But it was important to us [de ne pas dépasser le salaire de Suzuki].”
“Cole is a team guy,” he continued. The contract represented its market value. Cole wanted to be in Montreal long term.
The long-term core
Caufield will therefore wear the CH uniform until the end of the 2030-2031 season. In the case of Suzuki, there will remain seven more seasons in its agreement (2029-2030).
Hughes thus secured the future of his offensive core for a very long time.
“We wanted the long term,” he explained. I often hear that players don’t want to play in Montreal. I don’t get told that by players or agents. But we hear it often.
“That may have been true in the past, but I disagree. The players are happy when they are in a good context and play good hockey. It’s important to us. Cole wanted to be there and it’s a message to others that good players everywhere want to play in Montreal.