Cole Caufield: Is this the year?

[Habby4Life]

it doesn’t matter what he said. Carey Orice said it was his fault every time we lost.

The numbers do not support your argument. If they did I’d agree but they don’t.

He had a great year. Shots in close were right in line with before. His shooting percentage from mid ice was abysmal. That should be his bread and butter - it was abysmally bad. Guess why? His shot sucked.

It doesn’t matter what he said, you know better than Cole Caufield himself.

Where do you even go with such an absurd comment?

Some poster on HF boards knows better than the goal scorer himself

It’s becoming increasingly hard to take you serious.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

It doesn’t matter what he said, you know better than Cole Caufield himself.

Where do you even go with such an absurd comment?

Some poster on HF boards knows better than the goal scorer himself

It’s becoming increasing hard to take you serious.

Players say stuff all the time and it doesn’t mean anything. Welcome to the world of sports.

What he said doesn’t matter. The numbers don’t line up with your argument.

 

[Habby4Life]

Players say stuff all the time and it doesn’t mean anything. Welcome to the world of sports.

What he said doesn’t matter. The numbers don’t line up with your argument.

You just sound plain ridiculous.

I’ll go with Cole Caufield, and the Head Coach of the Montreal Canadiens MSL over your little fixation with numbers.

Of course, you know more than him the status of his shoulder, his shot, and what he and his coach attribute bettering his scoring chances.

Can’t have a serious discussion with you.

Bye Bye. (Mod)

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

You just sound plain ridiculous.

I’ll go with Cole Caufield, and the Head Coach of the Montreal Canadiens MSL over your little fixation with numbers.

Of course, you know more than him the status of his shoulder, his shot, and what he and his coach attribute bettering his scoring chances.

Can’t have a serious discussion with you.

Bye Bye. (Mod)

Numbers are numbers bud. If your argument isn't supported by them then they don't really hold water. No player quote changes that.

Have a great day!

 

[Boris Le Tigre]

I hope he can hit 35 this year… the team should be able to generate a bit more offence this year.

 

[ReimanSum1908]

Players say stuff all the time and it doesn’t mean anything. Welcome to the world of sports.

What he said doesn’t matter. The numbers don’t line up with your argument.

Now, now. Hockey players are renowned for their insightful and honest commentary on the game and their ability to transcend simplistic platitudes that merely placate insipid sports reporters and marginally-attentive fans who are largely half-drunk by the first intermission.

 

[Team_Spirit]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1841503016962167133

 

[junyab]

If a reporter asked CC if he should score more closer to the net, Id have to think his only response, true or not, would be yes.

 

[Trabdy2]

I'm all for giving the CC-Suzuki-Slaf line a good chance again to start the year, but if we can't get a second line going then I'd like CC to be put alongside Dach for a while.

Then we can rotate in wingers (Newhook, Roy, Armia) to see who fits with the "duos" of Suzi-Slaf and Dach-CC, until Laine comes back.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

I'm all for giving the CC-Suzuki-Slaf line a good chance again to start the year, but if we can't get a second line going then I'd like CC to be put alongside Dach for a while.

Then we can rotate in wingers (Newhook, Roy, Armia) to see who fits with the "duos" of Suzi-Slaf and Dach-CC, until Laine comes back.

I think Dach and CC would be awesome together

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Numbers are numbers bud. If your argument isn't supported by them then they don't really hold water. No player quote changes that.

Have a great day!

The numbers suggest that Cole Caufield had a bad goal-scoring season, not that he was injured. You're the one acting like this is a fact when it's pure speculation. Carey Price offering up platitudes about games lost has absolutely nothing to do with it.

Maybe Caufield did suffer from a bad shoulder for the entirety of the year, maybe he didn't, but the poster is right, your insistence that he did is nothing but speculative. Honestly you were so adamant on it that I just assumed it was true and that it was reported but if that's not the case, I don't think it's consistent of you to just willy-nilly place the blame entirely on his shoulder and then say 'numbers are numbers'. You're doing precisely the opposite of that.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

If a reporter asked CC if he should score more closer to the net, Id have to think his only response, true or not, would be yes.

Yeah, it's absolutely meaningless.

And just to put things in context... CC was drowning under the old regime. 1 goal in 30 something games. Once MSL joined, he instantly caught fire with Nick and more ice. It was pointed out that CC's shooting percentage in his first year was 12.3. Okay... but that's only half the story. Once MSL joined it was 19.3 percent. The following year it was 16.5. Average it out and it's something like 17.5 percent.

Even if we went with the 12.3 number (which is much lower than you'd expect) he'd have gotten 39 goals last year. At 16.5 it's 52 goals. At 17.5 it's 55 goals. At 19.3 it's 61!

Should we expect him to shoot around 20 percent? Of course not. But you'd expect him to do a whole lot better than less than nine.

At a normal rate, I'd expect him to shoot around 15 percent. That would've given him 48 goals. If he can have the same season as last year but improve his shot, he's got a very good chance at landing 50+. It was a great year for him, he just wasn't able to put the puck in the net. Hopefully it's better this year.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

The numbers suggest that Cole Caufield had a bad goal-scoring season, not that he was injured. You're the one acting like this is a fact when it's pure speculation. Carey Price offering up platitudes about games lost has absolutely nothing to do with it.

His numbers are a huge outlier from what he's done previously. And his shooting percentage was at it's worst from mid-ice, exactly where you'd expect his bread and butter to be. This happens right after surgery. Those are the facts.

I don't think it's speculative to say they're related. There's no other explanation.

Maybe Caufield did suffer from a bad shoulder for the entirety of the year, maybe he didn't, but the poster is right, your insistence that he did is nothing but speculative. Honestly you were so adamant on it that I just assumed it was true and that it was reported but if that's not the case, I don't think it's consistent of you to just willy-nilly place the blame entirely on his shoulder and then say 'numbers are numbers'. You're doing precisely the opposite of that.

That poster was referencing quotes from a player who took responsibility for lack of results. Where have we seen that before?It's not an argument, it's meaningless. Players do this all the time. That's also a fact. That poster was also factually wrong about him not shooting in close... he absolutely was. Same as the year before. The only difference is that he actually shot the puck more and had worse results. A shooting percentage of SEVEN is inexplicable for a player of that caliber. That's what he was at before his last nine games where he scored eight goals.

So... either he forgot how to shoot the puck all of a sudden and had the absolute worst shooting percentage in the league for somebody with 250 plus shots.... or he was hurt.

What do you think happened?

 

[Deebs]

IMO.....Cole will be a 30-35ish goals a year player for his career. That's very solid. I'd eventually like to see him on the 2nd line with "easier" defenders to deal with.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

His numbers are a huge outlier from what he's done previously. And his shooting percentage was at it's worst from mid-ice, exactly where you'd expect his bread and butter to be. This happens right after surgery. Those are the facts.

I don't think it's speculative to say they're related. There's no other explanation.

That poster was referencing quotes from a player who took responsibility for lack of results. Where have we seen that before? It happens all the time. It's not an argument, it's meaningless. Players do this all the time. That's also a fact.

So... either he forgot how to shoot the puck all of a sudden and had the absolute worst shooting percentage in the league for somebody with 250 plus shots.... or he was hurt.

What do you think happened?

I don't know what happened. That's the point. And I don't pretend to know. And if I did, I wouldn't be as forceful about it without confirmation.

He started off brutally under Ducharme too. I don't recall if there was an injury there either. Point is, Caufield did develop more as a passer this year so the year wasn't a loss at all and while I too think he should be good for more than 28, maybe he's just telling the truth. Just like we've seen plenty of players admit that they did with an injury during the year, maybe him and his coach are just telling the truth dude.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

I don't know what happened. That's the point. And I don't pretend to know. And if I did, I wouldn't be as forceful about it without confirmation.

I'm sorry but this doesn't wash.

God has given you the gift of common sense. If a player fell down on the ice one game and came back less than he was before, you'd know it was because he was hurt.

You have to have a basis for skeptism and that doesn't exist here. His play was better than it was the year before. He had more shots than the year before. His shots were in closer than the year before but his shooting percentage was cut in half... And the real telltale sign is that his shooting percentage from mid ice was atrocious. That really brings home the argument that his shot was problematic. And all of this suddenly happens right after he has surgery.

You don't get to sit there and say 'we can't possibly know anything'... yes we can. We have facts at hand that explain the results.

He started off brutally under Ducharme too. I don't recall if there was an injury there either. Point is, Caufield did develop more as a passer this year so the year wasn't a loss at all and while I too think he should be good for more than 28, maybe he's just telling the truth. Just like we've seen plenty of players admit that they did with an injury during the year, maybe him and his coach are just telling the truth dude.

But his play under Ducharme was due to lack of opportunity. His shots were low... it wasn't a question of him being robbed, he simply wasn't playing with good players and the underlying numbers reflected it.

He was then moved up and his play and shots went up. Totally different story than last year. Last season he put up the best underlying numbers of his career. It should've been a career year but instead he couldn't score for weeks at a time. There's no rationale explanation for it other than the surgery.

Look, it would be a completely different story if those numbers were different. Then I'd agree with you. But that wasn't the case. His numbers were stellar apart from the goal totals. That's the ONLY thing that was off. And it was off by a lot. The only explanation for that is surgery.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

IMO.....Cole will be a 30-35ish goals a year player for his career. That's very solid. I'd eventually like to see him on the 2nd line with "easier" defenders to deal with.

I expect 35 from him this year. The prognosis was it takes three years to recover fully from the surgery.

Hopefully he gets better from there, we’ll see.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

I'm sorry but this doesn't wash.

God has given you the gift of common sense. If a player fell down on the ice one game and came back less than he was before, you'd know it was because he was hurt.

You have to have a basis for skeptism and that doesn't exist here. His play was better than it was the year before. He had more shots than the year before. His shots were in closer than the year before but his shooting percentage was cut in half... And the real telltale sign is that his shooting percentage from mid ice was atrocious. That really brings home the argument that his shot was problematic. And all of this suddenly happens right after he has surgery.

You don't get to sit there and say 'we can't possibly know anything'... yes we can. We have facts at hand that explain the results.

But his play under Ducharme was due to lack of opportunity. His shots were low... it wasn't a question of him being robbed, he simply wasn't playing with good players and the underlying numbers reflected it.

He was then moved up and his play and shots went up. Totally different story than last year. Last season he put up the best underlying numbers of his career. It should've been a career year but instead he couldn't score for weeks at a time. There's no rationale explanation for it other than the surgery.

Look, it would be a completely different story if those numbers were different. Then I'd agree with you. But that wasn't the case. His numbers were stellar apart from the goal totals. That's the ONLY thing that was off. And it was off by a lot. The only explanation for that is surgery.

Would Caufield and MSL be God in this scenario? Because I don't think even they could convince you otherwise.

Look, maybe you're right, all I'm saying is you can't discount what everyone else is saying without actual confirmation as that's what you're doing while being contradicted by the the player himself and his coach. A million players have come out after an underwhelming season to say 'Hey, I wasn't right all year because of X' but we didn't even get that from Caufield so I wouldn't dismiss the idea that he just had an off year in terms of goal-scoring.

 

[Trabdy2]

81 goals in 205 regular season games. That's 32.4 goals/82 games.

I think as long as he's healthy, 30-35 goals should be the typical production we get with Caufield. If we can get our PP going properly, 40 might be in reach.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Would Caufield and MSL be God in this scenario? Because I don't think even they could convince you otherwise.

Look, maybe you're right, all I'm saying is you can't discount what everyone else is saying without actual confirmation as that's what you're doing while being contradicted by the the player himself and his coach. A million players have come out after an underwhelming season to say 'Hey, I wasn't right all year because of X' but we didn't even get that from Caufield so I wouldn't dismiss the idea that he just had an off year in terms of goal-scoring.

Here are the arguments I’ve heard:

1. ‘But Caufield said he needs to shoot more from in close.’

2. ‘I don’t know.’

Neither of those are valid.

Provide me with something plausible and we can discuss it. Please give me an alternative good reason why a player who just had surgery would suddenly see his shooting percentage plummet to extreme outlier levels.

Give me a reason besides the two that have come before and I’ll listen.

 

[Habs]

I think it's impossible to score more than 40 on this team, with this PP and without Laine.
If he hits 35 I'd be happy. Capable of many goals, just not here, in this system.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Here are the arguments I’ve heard:

1. ‘But Caufield said he needs to shoot more from in close.’

2. ‘I don’t know.’

Neither of those are valid.

Provide me with something plausible and we can discuss it. Please give me an alternative good reason why a player who just had surgery would suddenly see his shooting percentage plummet to extreme outlier levels.

Give me a reason besides the two that have come before and I’ll listen.

It's my understanding (per the previous poster you were discussing with) that MSL and Caufield themselves said he hadn't been dealing with an injury this year and that he was 100%. If that's the case and you're still dismissing that out of hand, there's nothing that anyone can say that's going to convince you otherwise - not that it's what I'm even particularly trying to do, just saying that dismissing it is kind of silly.

 

[SlafySZN]

I think it's impossible to score more than 40 on this team, with this PP and without Laine.
If he hits 35 I'd be happy. Capable of many goals, just not here, in this system.

Demidov will help many players stats. 5 on 5 or PP.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

It's my understanding (per the previous poster you were discussing with) that MSL and Caufield themselves said he hadn't been dealing with an injury this year and that he was 100%. If that's the case and you're still dismissing that out of hand, there's nothing that anyone can say that's going to convince you otherwise - not that it's what I'm even particularly trying to do, just saying that dismissing it is kind of silly.

You can be ‘healthy’ and play all 82 games but still have shoulder issues. The prognosis for the surgery he had is that it takes three years to return to normal. So sure held healthy enough to play but that doesn’t mean it’s not affecting his shot.

And players lie about their health all the time. It’s meaningless.

A 7-9 percent shooting percentage is so far an outlier that it can’t be explained by a slump. Especially when all of his other numbers were great. It would be one thing if it were say 11-12. That would be disappointing but at least within some kind of norm.

Going into the last nine games it was 6.9 percent. That’s just not possible with a sniper that good. It should be double that number.

 

[Sorinth]

Here are the arguments I’ve heard:

1. ‘But Caufield said he needs to shoot more from in close.’

2. ‘I don’t know.’

Neither of those are valid.

Provide me with something plausible and we can discuss it. Please give me an alternative good reason why a player who just had surgery would suddenly see his shooting percentage plummet to extreme outlier levels.

Give me a reason besides the two that have come before and I’ll listen.

For the record I do think Caufield's shooting percentage will bounce back this year and we'll see numerous 35+ goals seasons over his career. But this is now the 2nd time Caufield has gone ice cold for half a season, it was easy to dismiss the first time because he was a rookie and Ducharme wasn't a good coach, but we also have to acknowledge that he might just be a guy who goes on crazy hot and crazy cold streaks.