Habs' Caufield to miss remainder of season with shoulder injury

Montreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield will miss the remainder of the season with a right shoulder injury, the team announced Saturday.

Caufield will undergo surgery in the near future. The team will provide an update on his recovery timeline after the procedure.

Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis told reporters on Saturday that Caufield sustained the injury earlier in the season and had been playing through it.

"He was getting evaluated every game. It was something he had to deal with," St. Louis said. "We got some information late last night that sent us down this path."

Caufield leads the Canadiens with a career-high 26 goals and ranks second on the team with 36 points in 46 games.

He logged 17:41 of ice time and put up three shots on goal during the Canadiens' 6-2 loss to the Florida Panthers on Thursday.

The 22-year-old can become a restricted free agent this summer. He confirmed Friday that his agent, Pat Brisson, opened preliminary contract talks with Montreal.

Though Caufield noted that he isn't in any rush to put pen to paper and would leave the heavy lifting to his representatives, he said the contract negotiations are still "in the back of (his) mind."

General manager Kent Hughes said Wednesday that the team wants to sign Caufield to a long-term deal, according to NHL.com's Sean Farrell.

The Canadiens selected Caufield with the 15th overall pick in 2019. The Wisconsin native put up 84 points in 123 NHL games since entering the league in 2020-21.

His 53 goals in that span are the most on the Canadiens despite the fact that he's played in 61 fewer games than Nick Suzuki, who has the second most.

Montreal is in last place of the Atlantic Division with a record of 19-24-3.