Ever since their magical run to the Stanley Cup Final back in 2021, things haven't gone very well for the Montreal Canadiens. However, it's clear they are attempting to build towards the future currently, and their latest move, in which they extended young star Cole Caufield to a long-term deal, shows that they are making quite a bit of progress when it comes to building their next great team.

Caufield just finished up his third season in the NHL with Montreal, and he looks like one of the brightest young stars in the game. Despite playing in just 46 games this year, Caufield racked up a career-high 26 goals in addition to ten assists as well. Caufield looks to be well on his way to becoming one of the top goalscorers in the game, and that earned him a massive eight-year, $62.8 million extension from the Canadiens on Monday morning.

Via Frank Seravelli:

“Cole Caufield signs a whopper extension with Canadiens: 8 years x $7.85 million. Total of $62.8 million.”

After signing Nick Suzuki to a similarly large deal back in 2021, the Canadiens are beginning to put together the foundation for their next great team. With Caufield now teaming up with Suzuki for the next five years at least, Montreal has a pair of stars worth surrounding with talent moving forward.

Caufield hasn't really put together a complete season with the Canadiens yet, but his potential is clear as day. If he can stay on the ice alongside Suzuki, Montreal will be in position to surprise a lot of folks next season. This is a big deal to kick off the offseason for Montreal, but now they will have to follow it up with more moves in an effort to continually improve this team.