<p>Montreal Canadiens winger Cole Caufield announced in an Instagram post on Tuesday evening that he will switch uniform numbers to No. 13 going forward in honour of the late Johnny Gaudreau.</p>



<p>Caufield, 23, grew up idolizing Gaudreau during his tenure with the Calgary Flames and got to play alongside the recently deceased forward with Team USA at the 2024 IIHF World Championship earlier this offseason.</p>



<p>After being selected by Montreal in the first round (No. 15 overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft, Caufield made his NHL debut with the Canadiens while wearing No. 22 during the 2020-21 regular season and helped the club reach the Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning that year.</p>



<p>Now, in the wake of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau both being killed by a drunk driver late last week, Caufield has decided to move forward in his career with Johnny’s old No. 13 on his back.</p><div class="injected-ad injected-video" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="0" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="151"></div>



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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Cole Caufield has changed his number to 13 in honor of Johnny Hockey according to his latest Instagram post. <br><br>Such a heartfelt post from the <a href="https://twitter.com/CanadiensMTL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CanadiensMTL</a> star. <a href="https://t.co/bMB3PiRhFe">pic.twitter.com/bMB3PiRhFe</a></p>— Jonny Lazarus (@JLazzy23) <a href="https://twitter.com/JLazzy23/status/1831136417746923667?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2024</a></blockquote><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p>“We all lost an amazing person, both on and off the ice, in last week’s tragedy,” Caufield wrote in his Instagram post on Tuesday, accompanied by a photo of his new No. 13 jersey. “My deepest condolences go to the entire Gaudreau family, especially Johnny’s wife and two kids, who I had the pleasure of meeting. Nothing will be able to fill the void in their families and loved ones hearts, but I hope it provides some comfort to know how these two positively impacted the lives of so many. They will truly be missed.</p>



<p>“Getting to play with your hero is something that most people only dream of,” Caufield continued. “I was lucky enough to be Johnny’s teammate this past summer and it didn’t take long to realize how great of a person he was. He was the most welcoming, genuine, and funniest guy I have ever met. He was someone everyone gravitated towards and I took every chance I could to be around him. Not only was he an amazing hockey player and teammate, but he was down to earth and truly cared about every person he encountered.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="1" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="218"></div>



<p>“The last few years playing as&nbsp;#22&nbsp;have been some of the best years of my life. It truly has been a dream come true and I will forever hold those memories and that number close to me. I wore&nbsp;#13&nbsp;at a point in my career because of Johnny and now I will be wearing it again to honor him. He paved the way for smaller players and proved we had a future in this game at the highest level. I will forever be grateful to him for inspiring me and others.&nbsp;Rest in Peace, Johnny Hockey.”</p>



<p>Caufield previously wore No. 13 during his time with the U.S. National Team Development Program before switching to No. 8 when he started at the University of Wisconsin. He also wore No. 44 during his brief stints with the AHL’s Laval Rocket in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="2" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="141"></div>



<p>Perhaps due to superstition, the Canadiens organization seldom assigned the No. 13 during its first century of operation, with Alex Tanguay becoming the first Habs player in 87 years to wear the number after he joined the team in 2009. Since then, Mike Cammalleri and Max Domi are the two most notable players to have worn No. 13 with the Canadiens.</p>



<p>In 205 career games while wearing No. 22 over parts of four seasons with the Canadiens, Caufield has collected 81 goals and 149 points. He added four goals and 12 points in 20 games with the Canadiens in the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs.</p>
