The Montreal Canadiens announced a bombshell on Saturday morning announcing that Cole Caufield will miss the rest of the season for a shoulder injury that will require surgery.
Injury update on Cole Caufieldhttps://t.co/vLWOWn38D8
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) January 21, 2023
Caufield, who just turned 22, has 26 goals and 10 assists in 46 games this season. He is the third young player to be announced to be out long-term following injuries to Kaiden Guhle and Juraj Slafkovsky.
Jonathan Drouin was retroactively placed on IR, and the team has recalled forward Alex Belzile from the Laval Rocket. They would have had 10 healthy forwards on the roster on Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Les Canadiens ont rappelé l’attaquant Alex Belzile du Rocket de Laval.
The Canadiens have recalled forward Alex Belzile from the Laval Rocket.#GoHabsGo
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) January 21, 2023
The Rocket in a corresponding move recalled forward Ryan Francis from the Trois-Rivières Lions for their game against the Toronto Marlies. They only had 18 healthy skaters available to them prior to the Belzile recall so he needed to be replaced.
Le Rocket a rappelé Ryan Francis des Lions de Trois-Rivières.
Rocket announced that Ryan Francis has been recalled from the Trois-Rivières Lions. #GoRocket pic.twitter.com/pxmkv4KQ23
— Rocket de Laval (@RocketLaval) January 21, 2023
There is no immediate word on how long Caufield will be out following the surgery. The Canadiens say they will provide more details on his timeline once the surgery is completed.
Caufield set a career high in goals this season, but will not have a chance to add to his total.
The Canadiens, per Sportsnet’s Eric Engels say that Caufield has been playing through the injury for a while.
Canadiens say that Cole Caufield has been playing with this shoulder injury for a while. More of an update coming before Martin St. Louis addresses media this morning.
— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) January 21, 2023
