An update on his recovery period will be issued following the surgery.
"I mean, he got hurt earlier his season," coach Martin St. Louis said. "It's
. Caufield can become a restricted free agent after this season.
Caufield's injury is the latest that has hampered the Canadiens.
Forward Sean Monahan (lower body) was placed on long-term injured reserve Monday, forward Juraj Slafkovsky will be out three months with a lower-body injury, center Jake Evans will be out 8-10 weeks with a lower-body injury, and forwards Jonathan Drouin and Joel Armia each will be out until the NHL All-Star break because of an upper-body injury, and goalie Jake Allen could be out one week with an upper-body injury.
Drouin was placed on injured reserve Saturday, retroactive to Jan. 16. Montreal also recalled forward Alex Belzile from Laval of the American Hockey League.
NHL.com staff writer Tracey Myers and independent correspondent Sean Farrell contributed to this report
