That is the day the Montreal Canadiens fired head coach Dominque Ducharme, who after leading the Habs to a Cinderella-run to the Stanley Cup Finals last season, had the Canadiens in last place in the Eastern Conference. The Canadiens named former NHL star Martin St. Louis as the interim head coach that very same day.

St. Louis’ impact on Caufield was immediate. 

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After entering the year considered the favorite to win the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year, Caufield started the season goalless in the first 10 games, recording just one assist in that time. He was sent down to the AHL’s Laval Rocket at the beginning of November, only to be recalled later in the month. The rookie eventually found the back of the net in December but carried just one goal on the season into the month of February. 

On Feb. 10, the first game with St. Louis at the helm, Caufield scored his second of the year. Then he scored again the next game, then potted two goals in his fourth game under St. Louis.

After registering just one goal and seven assists in 30 games under Ducharme, Caufield has since lit up the scoresheet with the new hiring of St. Louis. The small winger has 12 goals and 11 assists in his 19 games thus far with St. Louis at the helm. 

He is looking more like the player the Canadiens saw at the end of last season, who recorded four goals in 10 regular-season games and 12 points in 20 postseason games after signing his entry-level contract with the Habs once his season at the University of Wisconsin concluded. 

The No. 15 pick from the 2019 NHL Draft has built a trust system with St. Louis, who was coaching his son’s Peewee hockey team before taking the Montreal job. Caufield praised his new coach after a Feb. 21 game where he had a goal and two assists. 

St. Louis’ belief in Caufield has been evident in his increase in time on ice. Under Ducharme, the forward was averaging just 14:41 TOI, while St. Louis has played Caufield at least 16 minutes in all but four of the 19 games under St. Louis, including over 20 minutes in eight of them. 

It’s also helped that Caufield is attempting more shots per game from the slot than before. The shot attempts haven’t changed much, Caufield always had one of the higher marks on that category even with Ducharme. But preceding the firing of Ducharme, the Canadiens rookie was averaging 7.13 slot shots per 60 minutes. However, now he’s generating 12.8 per 60, a mark that leads the team. 

Here is a look at heat maps of Caufield’s shot selection courtesy of Sportlogiq. This first one is before Feb. 9 under Ducharme, where you can see his shot selections primarily came from the left side. 

In comparison, here is Caufield’s shot selection under St. Louis, where it’s evident that a majority of his attempts are coming closer to the slot, providing a higher chance at scoring. 

You can see an example here, where Caufield holds onto the puck, moves into the slot and finds twine. 

St. Louis understands that as a young player, Caufield is bound to mess up from time to time. But it’s a good thing to understand those errors and correct them early in your career, rather than sit a young budding star. 

The Canadiens as a team have seen vast improvements since the hiring of St. Louis. After the change in coach, the team has gone 9-7-3, winning more games with St. Louis already in his short time with the team than with Ducharme this season. 

The hope for a push to the playoffs is out of the picture. Despite the recent success, the Habs still find themselves in last in the league. 

But St. Louis is setting the foundations for the future in Montreal. And a big part of that future lies with Caufield.