One of the biggest issues facing the Montreal Canadiens will be the contract extension of the team's young star, Cole Caufield. If the recent signings of excellent young players drafted in 2019 like Caufield tell us anything, including Matthew Boldy and Dylan Cozens, it's that his next contract could cost more than $50M in total. Most experts agree that #22's next deal should be for 7 or 8 years, and worth $7-9 million annually. However, according to The Athletic's respected expert Shayna Goldman, there could be a surprise in this matter, as she just made a statement that is causing quite a stir. As reported by DansLesCoulisses, check out the statement in question: <q>A short-term deal would likely keep the value of the contract around $2 million to $3 million. A longer-term deal, however, could push it closer to $5 million. - Shayna Goldman</q> I have to admit that I am extremely surprised by this information, especially coming from a qualified individual who writes for a reputable media outlet like The Athletic. I simply do not understand how she can assess that Caufield's value can be $5M per season. Plus, considering all the recent comparables that have gotten much more lucrative deals in the market, it doesn't make sense. Besides, Dylan Cozens' freshly signed seven-year, $7.1 million contract seems to be the best possible benchmark. I can't see Caufield getting anything less than that on his next contract and we can forget about a short-term deal right now. The Habs would gain absolutely nothing by signing the 22 year old American for such a short period of time. However, Shayna Goldman is an expert who relies heavily on analytical models, but even so, with the latest NHL comparables signed, she seems to be in the field solidly. Still, it's worth noting that Caufield has scored 48 goals in his last 83 games, so he could possibly score 50 per season. You don't extend a future 50-goal scorer on a short-term contract and he'll never sign for just $5M per season. <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/TheAthleticNHL/status/1622973472644403201?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1622973472644403201%7Ctwgr%5E493dbb2969ab85f1e168c45429e525542b6f4b8b%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.habsetlnh.com%2FUne-prolongation-de-contrat-surprise-de-seulement-2-millions-de-dollars-pour-Cole-Caufield-206981'> </a></blockquote></div> <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/DLCoulisses/status/1623315035576582145?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1623315035576582145%7Ctwgr%5E493dbb2969ab85f1e168c45429e525542b6f4b8b%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.habsetlnh.com%2FUne-prolongation-de-contrat-surprise-de-seulement-2-millions-de-dollars-pour-Cole-Caufield-206981'> </a></blockquote></div>