When the Montreal Canadiens announced yesterdaythat Cole Caufield will miss the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury that needs repairing, a season which was already put on standby was suddenly thrust into full punt mode.
We knew from the start that this would in all likelihood be yet another season in whicih the Canadiens would struggle to make a significant impact. Instead, it was a year where young guys would get more time to prove themselves as NHL players, and veterans would get to show that they either want to be part of the rebuild or that they have another big contract in them somewhere else in the league.