Cole Caufield
Caufield is Montreal's top-line winger and a first power-play unit shooter, and the open questions this season are who centers him and how long the Suzuki injury lasts.
Role
Reporting from late October has him on the top line with Juraj Slafkovsky. He has shifted between wings in listings: Inside the Rink and ESPN list him at left wing, while The Morning Puck's expected lines for Oct 31 have him at right wing. NHL.com's Oct 27 projected lineup had Oliver Kapanen at center. In practice around Oct 28, Alex Newhook took the center spot with Nick Suzuki out (Yahoo/Habs Wrap). Inside the Rink's Oct 31 preview has Caufield, Newhook and Slafkovsky on line 1. Shipitnation's page shows that trio in the Oct 29 game against Dallas. The power-play unit he plays on has changed. On Oct 27 it was Caufield, Kapanen, Slafkovsky, Dobson and Hutson. The Oct 31 preview has Slafkovsky, Dach, Bolduc, Caufield and Hutson, and Newhook and Kapanen moved to the second unit. The competition for the work is mostly at center (Newhook and Kapanen, with Suzuki out). Ice time figures were not found. Daily Faceoff's line page fetched only as an empty page last updated December 2025, so I could not read it. These lines come from NHL.com, Inside the Rink, Shipitnation, ESPN, 5v5 Hockey and Yahoo, all checked on 2 Nov.
He has stayed on the first power-play unit and the top line through every change. Reports have him with 7 goals this season (a Sportsnaut item cited his 7th goal). He averaged 3.56 shots per game over the first nine games (A Winning Habit). Slafkovsky is shooting well below last year's rate and is due to bounce back, which could lift the whole line. The new center might also bring some extra chemistry.
A Winning Habit reported Caufield had not scored since Suzuki was ruled out, and his shots dropped to 2.33 per game over the previous three games from 3.56 in the first nine. The top-line center keeps rotating, and the Oct 28 report said Martin St-Louis changed the line to get Caufield and Slafkovsky going. The power-play unit also keeps changing. Suzuki has been reported out two to four weeks, so the line has no stable center until he returns.
Where analysts split
The disagreement is about who centers Caufield and Slafkovsky (Newhook or Kapanen) while Suzuki is out, and what happens when Suzuki returns. Listings also differ on his wing and on who joins him on the first power-play unit. Nobody I found questions his place on the line or the first unit. I found no analyst piece arguing he will lose that role.
Research confidence: reported. Outlooks are grounded in web search over current reporting and refreshed through the season.
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