Kent Hughes would have pulled off another incredible theft with the contract of Cole Caufield and the statistics prove it

PUBLICATION

Elias Edmonson
September 24, 2023 (11:26)

SHARE THIS STORY

Big contracts have been signed this summer during the off-season. Big names like Auston Matthews, David Pastrnak, and even Cole Caufield have recently renewed their agreements with their respective NHL teams.

Auston Matthews signed a contract with an annual value of $13.25 million (over four seasons).

Cole Caufield signed a contract with an annual value of $7.85 million (over eight seasons).

David Pastrnak signed a contract with an annual value of $11.25 million (over eight seasons).

These three contracts are quite interesting considering the talent of these players, their duration, and the amount given to the forwards per year.

A clear comparison between them shows that, once again, Kent Hughes is excellent and pulled off a steal with Caufield's signing!

A very specific statistic proves why it's a good deal, and it's worth mentioning that this observation comes from an analyst who doesn't even cover the activities of the Canadiens.

"Cole Caufield has played 83 games since Martin St-Louis became his coach.

Not only has Caufield scored 48 goals during this streak... he is the third-highest scorer in the NHL, at 5 vs 5 goals/60 minutes over this period, behind only David Pastrnak and Auston Matthews.

Don't sleep on Mr. Caufield for the Rocket Trophy..." - Matt Larkin

And if we look closely at last season only, it's even better:

"Last season, Cole Caufield scored more goals per game than:

Auston Matthews
Jack Hughes
Carter Verhaeghe
Timo Meier
Tim Stutzle
Matthew Tkachuk
Elias Pettersson
William Nylander
Jason Robertson

$7.85 million per season until he is 30 for Caufield."

Many experts thought they would see Caufield sign a contract for more than $8 million per season, or even hold out for a shorter duration, to become a free agent sooner. In the end, he signed for the maximum number of years and for an amount lower than many predictions.

It is still amazing to see that number 22, who is at the very beginning of his NHL career, has the talent to score as many if not more goals than big names known for several years like David Pastrnak or Auston Matthews, who earn salaries of over $11 million.

In the end, for a general manager, an investment of $7.85 million seems much more affordable compared to $12 or $13 million, especially when these players have similar offensive production over the seasons.