Canadiens’ Cole Caufield embracing status as fan favourite

MONT-TREMBLANT, Que. — Gilles Cadieux Arena may only have a 540-patron capacity, but there had to be over 600 people packing it to watch the Montreal Canadiens practise Thursday.

Most of them were students, and all of them were seemingly enthralled to be this close to one particular member of the team.

Cole Caufield was cheered every time he took a shot in Thursday’s spirited practice. The fans screamed every time the 23-year-old scored, and he responded with exuberant celebrations, with salutes to the kids waving at him, and he even took a bit of time to pose for selfies with some of them.

For Caufield, who grew up in Stevens Point, Wisc., and nowhere near an NHL city, the magnitude of this event hit home. He had never experienced something similar as a kid, and he thought about that — about how it would’ve been one of the most special days of his life if he had come within such close proximity of his idols — and thought about doing all he could to return the love he was receiving.

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There was so much of it, and Caufield didn’t take any of it for granted.

“Most my buddies don’t get these opportunities like we do,” he said. “It’s pretty special to be a Canadien. I’m thankful every day to be a part of this team and it’s really fun to be around these guys with the fans that are so supportive. It’s such a good team and a team you want to play for.”

If Canadiens fans couldn’t fully sense Caufield felt that way, they certainly did this summer, when he put pen to paper on a contract that should keep him on Montreal for eight years and will pay him $62.8 million.

Caufield was a warmly-received draft pick of the team at 15^th overall in 2019, but he’s experienced a meteoric rise in popularity in Quebec since scoring on a near 50-goal pace last season and earning that contract. He managed 26 in 46 games after producing 23 in the final 37 games the season prior and, as a result, became the most marketable name in the province. Jerseys bearing his name and number flown off the shelves of the team’s official boutique, Tricolore Sports.

That might have been imaginable to Caufield as he dreamt of becoming an NHL star, but as he said on Thursday, “You really can’t put yourself in a situation like this until you’re really in it.”

Now that Caufield is in it, there’s something special about seeing him embrace his status. He hasn’t shied away from the scorching-hot spotlight he’s under, which only reinforces how well placed he is with the Canadiens.

How is the lineup shaping up?

The defence pairings most frequently in rotation Thursday were:

Mike Matheson-David Savard

Kaiden Guhle-Johnathan Kovacevic

Jordan Harris-Arber Xhekaj

Mattias Norlinder-Justin Barron

Gustav Lindstrom, who was back at practice after a couple of days spent healing an upper-body injury, was rotating in and out.

Where he’ll be on opening night in Toronto, next week, is still a bit of a mystery.

We think Norlinder might have the edge on both Lindstrom and Barron, as we wrote on Wednesday, but he might only be a first call-up if the Canadiens decide to keep three goaltenders with them to start the season — a possibility we wrote about here.

Meanwhile, the Canadiens didn’t run forward lines at Thursday’s practice, so we can’t definitively say what those will look like when the season gets underway in Toronto.

But we can take a guess.

It seems likely Sean Monahan will start the season next to Caufield and Nick Suzuki.

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Kirby Dach took a lot of reps next to Joel Armia, who appears to have rehabbed his upper-body injury, and we think Rafael Harvey-Pinard could complete that duo to start.

It won’t surprise us if Juraj Slafkovsky plays with Alex Newhook and Josh Anderson, leaving Brendan Gallagher and Tanner Pearson to be centred by Jake Evans.

About that fourth line, don’t expect it to be used as sparingly as fourth lines used to be in the NHL.

When we asked Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis what type of identity he’d like his fourth line to establish, his initial response was: “I think more than anything, you always think about your fourth line as energy, a physical line, and a line that can change the momentum of a game.”

Then St. Louis said: “We’re definitely expecting that from our fourth line, but to me that’s just bare minimum. You’ve got to be willing and able to do more than just that. What kind of identity? I don’t want them to play like a fourth line.”

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Gallagher and Pearson are former 20-goal scorers, and Evans has more offence in him than he showed through an injury-plagued 2022-23 season.

He intends on showing it.

When Evans was asked what he’s been focused on through camp, he said, “It’s making those smaller plays, creating a little bit more offence and, in practices, making sure you finish every goal.”

“Last year was tough on the offence and scoring for me, so it’s starts in practice and bearing down on those chances so when the games come it’s a little bit easier,” Evans added.

He had two goals and 19 points in 54 games last season, but some of his best stretches were alongside Gallagher.

Both have things to contribute, even when they’re not scoring goals.

Evans, who won 52 per cent of the 660 faceoffs he took last season, is going to be counted on to do heavy lifting in the defensive zone, especially with Christian Dvorak rehabbing a knee injury until at least November. He’ll also have a primary role on the penalty kill.

Gallagher may not be used there, but he could see some time on the power play and will be the biggest energy component of his line at five-on-five.

He and Evans fit together. They complement each other well because they both have a similar approach to the game, and both of them acknowledged that on Thursday.

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St. Louis likes to say he wants his players to be predictable to each other and unpredictable to their opponents, and Gallagher and Evans definitely have that first part covered. They both said they know exactly what to expect from each other, and they both said they find it easy to play with one another.

They like to play in straight lines, play give-and-go hockey and engage in the cycle game, and Pearson — or Michael Pezzetta, who will sub in at times — should fit well considering he also excels in those aspects of the game.

All three should expect to play more than a typical fourth line would, and at least as much as new-school fourth line does.

“I think if you look at fourth lines across the league, it’s no longer the guys that are going to have 15 fights and play four five minutes a night. I think it’s changed,” said Gallagher. “Generally speaking, it’s a guy that has to be on the penalty kill, a guy that has to win faceoffs, and wingers generally move up and down the lineup…The pace of the game has gone up, for sure, and in order to keep up teams need to roll four lines more than they have in the past. I think that role has probably shifted.”

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