Will Cole Caufield Make NHL’s Top 20 Wingers List?

As the NHL Network prepares to unveil its Top 20 Wingers Right Now list on Sunday night at 7:00 PM, the spotlight is on Montreal Canadiens’ standout Cole Caufield. Despite missing out on representing Team USA in the Four Nations Face-Off and the Olympics, largely due to a stylistic mismatch, Caufield’s performance last season raises questions about his inclusion in this elite ranking.

In the previous season, Caufield lit the lamp 51 times, leading all right wingers and finishing with an impressive 88 points. This put him third among all right wingers, trailing only Nikita Kucherov, who amassed 130 points, and David Pastrnak with 100 points. When considering all wingers, he ranked sixth overall, falling behind Jason Robertson (96 points), Kyle Connor (92 points), and Kirill Kaprizov (89 points), each of whom carries a significant cap hit.

Caufield’s goal-scoring prowess cannot be understated; he outpaced his closest competitor, Kucherov, by seven goals. In fact, only Nathan MacKinnon, who scored 53 goals, eclipsed Caufield’s total, with eight of MacKinnon’s goals coming in empty-net situations. This highlights Caufield’s effectiveness in critical moments, as he consistently finds the net when it matters most.

Defensively, Caufield also made his mark, finishing with a plus-29 rating, tying for fourth among wingers. This impressive differential was only surpassed by Kucherov (plus-44), Brandon Hagel (plus-34), and Artturi Lehkonen (plus-32). These statistics underscore Caufield’s all-around contributions to the Canadiens, reinforcing his case for a spot on the NHL Network’s list.

Despite concerns regarding his size for Team USA’s desired playing style, Caufield remains a formidable threat on the power play and has a knack for scoring pivotal goals. With a cap hit of $7.85 million, he represents one of the best value players in the league. As fans anticipate the NHL Network’s reveal, the question remains: will Caufield’s impressive stats earn him a well-deserved place among the top wingers in the NHL?

Note: This recap is an independently written summary based on publicly available reporting.