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Details of a Failed Cole Caufield Trade at the Deadline Leaks Publicly
Bob Frid-Imagn Images

Details of a failed trade deadline deal involving the Montreal Canadiens superstar Cole Caufield have leaked publicly.

There's a lot of hope right now in Montreal. If the team ends up failing to win the wild card playoff race this year, there will still be a lot of positive things to fall back on.

One of them has been the rise of Cole Caufield. After a few years of showing great promise, he finally reached another level in his development. He's likely to beat his personal record of 65 points in a season, as he currently has 61 points, with 16 games remaining in the season.

He also shows a new level of engagement on the ice, showing great maturity and responsibility.

Another exciting thing about him is the fact that he's signed to an eight-year, $8 million deal, meaning the Habs will be able to count on him for a long time.

He's poised to play for a long time in Montreal, and to win for a long time in Montreal.

However, a new report suggests that a team tried to acquire him from the Canadiens at the last trade deadline.

In fact, it was confirmed that the Canadiens were in on the talks involving Buffalo Sabres forward Dylan Cozens, but the Sabres were asking too much in return.

Here's what Mathias Brunet, a reporter covering the Canadiens, said in a radio intervention:

'I understood that the Canadiens tried very hard. Buffalo wanted a player for their lineup right away, and even though Norris is often injured, well, they got what they wanted.

With Dach being injured, you look at the options without saying that it was worth Norris, because for me, it was worth more than Norris.

But then you're talking about Caufield or Slafkovsky. And the answer was no.

As for Cozens, the Canadiens were interested, and they made inquiries.

Yes.

And the asking price...

It would have cost Caufield or Slafkovsky.

That just proves that if you want to get something good elsewhere, you have to give up your good players.

Especially since Buffalo didn't want draft picks or prospects, which is what the Canadiens have. Sometimes, when trades don't happen, it's not because the team didn't try, it's just because it didn't work out.'

Caufield is much better than Cozens, and the Habs would've made a big mistake by accepting the deal. The fact that teams are going after him on the trade market means that they'd like to have a player like him, meaning the Habs shouldn't move him unless they have no other choice.

This article first appeared on House of Hockey and was syndicated with permission.

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