NHL rumors: Cole Caufield likely won't make Team USA's 4 Nations roster
11/15/2024 10:43 AM
The Montreal Canadiens have been brutal to start the 2024-25 NHL season. They are in last place in the entire league despite Cole Caufield leading the league with 12 goals. The 4 Nations Face-Off is just around the corner and the Wisconsin native is hoping to make the American team. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported that Canadiens forward Cole Caufield is not expected to make Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
“No final decisions have been made, but our understanding is that despite his really great start offensively, Cole Caufield is on the outside looking in for that 23-man roster for Team USA. It speaks to the ridiculous depth Team USA has, arguably the greatest depth it’s ever had in the history of best-on-best hockey.’
LeBrun added that Caufield could still make the team but they are down to about four or five final decisions. The 23-year-old Caufield has been spectacular offensively but has struggled in other facets of the game. The Score contextualized his poor defensive play.
“Caufield enters Thursday tied for the NHL lead with 12 goals on the campaign. However, he has only one assist and his defensive metrics are poor. He’s posted minus-2.4 expected defensive goals above replacement this season, a bottom-10 mark among NHL forwards, per Evolving-Hockey.”
Team USA is deep on goal-scorers
LeBrun spoke about how deep Team USA is, and that will cost Caufield a spot on this team. With Matthew Tkachuk, Brady Tkachuk, Kyle Connor, and Jake Guentzel on the wing, there isn’t much place for the youngster. And with the struggles on defense, it is not worth bringing someone so young along.
While Caufield may be on the outside of this tournament, he should be on the roster for the 2026 Olympics. He will be one year older, have the disappointment of missing this team, and play better defense. Caufield will also provide easy cannon fodder for the American fans if they cannot score. Leaving him off is risky, but with so many scorers that should not be a problem.
As long as Caufield continues to score for the Canadiens, he will make Team USA at some point in his career. He appears to have hit his prime at the perfect time to play in best-on-best tournaments. There has only been one since the 2010 Olympics, the 2016 World Cup, but two are on the calendar for the next year.
Caufield can surprise everyone by scoring a ton of goals over the next two weeks and sneaking onto the team. If he leads the league in goals by the time the rosters are finalized in December, maybe he will be wearing Red, White, and Blue.
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