Cole Caufield made a big move after Martin St-Louis punished Juraj Slafkovsky

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Jim Sullivan
November 17, 2024 (8:28 PM)

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During the game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Columbus Blue Jackets, Martin St-Louis sent a serious message to forward Juraj Slafkovsky.

The head coach of the Habs, unhappy with the level of commitment shown by the first overall pick in 2022, decided to demote Juraj Slafkovsky to the fourth line.

Moreover, seeing that this change did not really have an effect on the performance of number 20, Martin St-Louis decided to nail him to the bench throughout the second period as well as at the beginning of the third period.

"After sitting on the bench for most of the 2nd period and the first 5 minutes of the 3rd, young Juraj Slafkovsky got a presence. » - Priyanta Emrith

Needless to say, the Slovakian forward, who started the game alongside Nick Suzuki and Kirby Dach on the first line, was not very happy with the treatment he received from his head coach.

Cole Caufield came to comfort his teammate

Visibly frustrated by the situation, you will understand that Juraj Slafkovsky had a downcast expression on his team's bench. However, showing great leadership, Habs forward Cole Caufield made a superb gesture by coming to comfort his good friend.

Renaud Lavoie: "Juraj Slafkovsky, it's been a while since he played. He's at the end of the bench, he encourages his teammates, but there is a level of frustration that is high, let's admit it."

Félix Séguin: "You saw, like me, Cole Caufield, at one point, went to see him."

Renaud Lavoie: "That's Cole Caufield's leadership, which is more and more present. He went to talk to him to explain that there was no point in being too frustrated right now."

Wow! We love it!

We can see that Cole Caufield, who is not primarily known for his leadership qualities, wants to have a bigger role among his teammates.

Although Juraj Slafkovsky's offensive production is not bad, with 11 points in 15 games, it is mainly the forward's involvement that has been questioned since the start of the season. In addition, the 6-foot-3, 225-league winger has only one goal to his name, and he is struggling to create scoring opportunities.

Nevertheless, it is encouraging to see that Martin St-Louis is doing a little more hard coaching at the moment, which, in my opinion, can only be beneficial.