Player Discussion Juraj Slafkovsky discussion

[HabsWhiteKnightLOL]

View attachment 992067
Comparing Slaf and Cole in those 6 games, one player is invisible and the other one is amazing. Yeah, sure.

A Actually yes. He generated much more on the ice ainec

 

[BLONG7]

He has improved his +/- from -19 to -4 and is two points away from 100 career points. 3 weeks away from his 21st birthday.


Lafleur scored 21 goals in year 3 and most were starting to think he was not going to become the player they thought he would...

The one thing here, is Slaf doesn't skate like Mac, but he can pass, and shoot and gets his hits in which is fantastic!! The kid is not 21 yet........he is gonna be a star folks, we can see the 1st line has talent and some serious low keyed swagger.

I find that this last game and the one right after the 4 nations were the best I've ever seen from him. He's a dominant force when he's on and a rare breed of player.

The kid wants to get better, each time out............

 

[Pure Laine]

I would just have bridged him. it was to early

That's how you put the team into cap hell.

 

[Tyson]

I would just have bridged him. it was to early

A calculated risk for sure that more GM's are doing. Bridge deals can inevitably cost your more down the road or it can save you from a bad investment

 

[HabsWhiteKnightLOL]

A calculated risk for sure that more GM's are doing. Bridge deals can inevitably cost your more down the road or it can save you from a bad investment

You seriously think Slaf is an upcoming 10m player? I mean let's all be reasonable now

That's how you put the team into cap hell.

I don't agree with that because after a bridge deal

Anderson Gallagher Matheson and Laine are off the book and the salary cap is increasing heavily in the next years.

 

[Pure Laine]

The shift he had with 2 minutes to go, where he retrieved the puck twice I believe and set up two great scoring chances. Kid is brilliant.

 

[salbutera]

I would just have bridged him. it was to early

Bridging in this environment, with cap ceiling about to skyrocket is a dangerous game - $8M is easier to manage even as a negative, should it become that, because Slaf is under 23 vs $10M+ he’d have needed to be signed for

You seriously think Slaf is an upcoming 10m player? I mean let's all be reasonable now


I don't agree with that because after a bridge deal

Anderson Gallagher Matheson and Laine are off the book and the salary cap is increasing heavily in the next years.

Cap inflation will artificially create $10M+ players who aren’t…that’s the real pending danger

 

[badfish]

A calculated risk for sure that more GM's are doing. Bridge deals can inevitably cost your more down the road or it can save you from a bad investment

To me it boils down to a management philosophy: do you avoid risk or do you manage risk. Bergevin tended to be a risk avoidance style (though every once in a while he'd take huge risks that did not generally pay off for him). Everything I've seen from HuGo has the hallmarks of risk management.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Go back to the Subban bridge threads. Remember how low people thought we were going to sign him for afterwards and then we paid through the nose.

Bridge contracts are not a good idea with young talent. Not only do you risk paying a lot more down the road but you also risk RFA bids from other teams.

Yes, giving him money up front is a risk. But it’s a calculated risk. One I think is well worth taking. I still believe this will be a bargain at the end.

 

[Whitesnake]

We put pressure on him because we're an impatient society willing to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

No player is drafted based on the type of player you project him to be at 20. That selection is based on what kind of player you project him to be from 23-30 (give or take).

"But Logan Cooley!!!!" Logan has cooled off from his hot start. He plays in relative obscurity in SLC. And no one was picking Logan 1OA, so people with that revisionist hindsight can cool their jets.

"But all players selected 1OA should dominate right away!" No. It took Lafleur a few years to figure it out. Joe Thornton? He was almost run out of Boston when Samsonov looked better early on. Eventually he was. Big body players take time. Players with no previous experience on NA ice take time to adjust to less time and space.

Some people don't know how to live without having something or someone to be angry at.

I believe he will breakout too. It's all there. He just needs to be granted the time to grow up as a player.

Well.....since everybody knows who we are...that we haven't had a top end team and won the whole thing since 1993, hockey being the only sport that matters, so we don't have 4 major sports to divide our attention into....yeah...we are impatient. Strangely though, our ''impatience'' rarely translate into something negative. I mean, people still go see the Habs. People still watch the Habs. People claps for the Habs at the end of another losing season....Our impatience is insanely exaggerated. Gaston Therrien's impatience does not mean a whole fanbase is. Same with JC Lajoie. Same with 20 to 30 posters in this board.

And as far as Slaf is concerned....well it comes with the territory. You play your kid immediately in the NHL....you will expect results. The team thinks he's ready....you expect him to be ready. The team doesn't think he's ready but expect it's better for his development? Fine. Kid is at his 3rd season. While there are critics, most people are behind him still. But year 4...he will have to show the dominance that he is supposed to show.

As far as projection...well not only in Montreal...but you will see that if the idea is to wait for a kid to flourish at 27, chances are he will do it elsewhere. Maybe it's a bad trait, maybe there are should be more patience see Tage Thompson, but that's not how this business is. And quite a lot of businesses actually.

Frankly, all of what you said is true. But if you put yourselves into a fan level of analysis, if it takes players time to figure out, especially players outside NA, big body players and so on...why not just 1 year in Laval and it would have soften the expectations. Because no No1 player starts in the AHL...so imagine if we would have done it. It would have said to the fanbase that clearly, this was not your normal No1 type of draft pick. People do have to know that each draft is different.

 

[HabsWhiteKnightLOL]

Bridging in this environment, with cap ceiling about to skyrocket is a dangerous game - $8M is easier to manage even as a negative, should it become that, because Slaf is under 23 vs $10M+ he’d have needed to be signed for


Cap inflation will artificially create $10M+ players who aren’t…that’s the real pending danger

Like who on the team? I get it but players are not about to have 8m+ as third liners. (Not talking about slaf) . I mostly see an increase on depth players and superstars and Ufas which is always where gms waste too much money for nothing

 

[salbutera]

Like who on the team? I get it but players are not about to have 8m+ as third liners. (Not talking about slaf) . I mostly see an increase on depth players and superstars and Ufas which is always where gms waste too much money for nothing

Forget this team, you need one team to overpay someone and the operating environment changes. Young players second contract cap hits were carefully managed by GMs until Edm, out of fear & desperation decided to open up the 2nd contract vault for Draisaitl and it spun out of control to where we find ourselves today w young players having negotiation leverage over teams like never seen before (not that it’s a bad thing for the players)

 

[Whitesnake]

Go back to the Subban bridge threads. Remember how low people thought we were going to sign him for afterwards and then we paid through the nose.

Bridge contracts are not a good idea with young talent. Not only do you risk paying a lot more down the road but you also risk RFA bids from other teams.

Yes, giving him money up front is a risk. But it’s a calculated risk. One I think is well worth taking. I still believe this will be a bargain at the end.

Still wonder why it's a problem to pay through the nose a surefire player that will end up helping you in a salary cap that will be much higher.

By the way sometimes....a player asks for that. What happens if a player ask that to bet on himself to get a better contract after? I know I would love it. I would think that the player is confidence enough to show much mroe than he's showing.

CLEARLY, they think the world out of him. They picked him. Gave him that contract right away. Us having thoughts is irrelevant to the contract. But if he doesn't pan out and become a 3rd liner....I wonder how much ''it was worth it'' we will continue to hear....

 

[Schooner Guy]

I find that this last game and the one right after the 4 nations were the best I've ever seen from him. He's a dominant force when he's on and a rare breed of player.

And he's still figuring out his raw abilities at the young age of 20. The finished product will be something else.

 

[Andy]

Slaf is on pace for 34 assists. He had 30 last year.

Only on pace for 16g when he had 20 last year.

Improvement in assists, reduction in goals.

 

[Trabdy2]

Really encouraged by Slafkovsky's progress that we have been seeing over the last ten games or so. That 1st line becomes a real problem to defend against when he's playing well like he has been. I think we're seeing the best hockey he's played in a Habs uniform so far right now, and I think he'll continue to get even better and more consistent over time. There's more confidence in his game and he's learning how to use his frame and reach to his advantage.

 

[Team_Spirit]

My daughter would say this post "slayed".

Slaf cow ski slayed last night

 

[Miller Time]

Slaf is on pace for 34 assists. He had 30 last year.

Only on pace for 16g when he had 20 last year.

Improvement in assists, reduction in goals.

50points... D3

Caufield was at 43
Suzuki at 41

I think those that are so confident in a low ceiling for him continue to forget just how young he is.

 

[BLNY]

Well.....since everybody knows who we are...that we haven't had a top end team and won the whole thing since 1993, hockey being the only sport that matters, so we don't have 4 major sports to divide our attention into....yeah...we are impatient. Strangely though, our ''impatience'' rarely translate into something negative. I mean, people still go see the Habs. People still watch the Habs. People claps for the Habs at the end of another losing season....Our impatience is insanely exaggerated. Gaston Therrien's impatience does not mean a whole fanbase is. Same with JC Lajoie. Same with 20 to 30 posters in this board.

And as far as Slaf is concerned....well it comes with the territory. You play your kid immediately in the NHL....you will expect results. The team thinks he's ready....you expect him to be ready. The team doesn't think he's ready but expect it's better for his development? Fine. Kid is at his 3rd season. While there are critics, most people are behind him still. But year 4...he will have to show the dominance that he is supposed to show.

I've been on a few Habs boards over the years and various social media platforms. There are a fairly large number of bad apples. This isn't limited to our team of course. It's a generalization of sports fans, but also society.

If Montreal had opted to put Juraj in Laval for his first year the people bemoaning his progression in Montreal would have called him a bust for not making the team in his first camp.

 

[Skip Bayless]

Beyond the socresheet, he was on it last night. He was on the puck and on the carrier like chewing gum and finishing his checks. Completely different player than vs Calgary and that should be his standard.

He needs to bring that style every game.

 

[junyab]

We put pressure on him because we're an impatient society willing to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

No player is drafted based on the type of player you project him to be at 20. That selection is based on what kind of player you project him to be from 23-30 (give or take).

"But Logan Cooley!!!!" Logan has cooled off from his hot start. He plays in relative obscurity in SLC. And no one was picking Logan 1OA, so people with that revisionist hindsight can cool their jets.

"But all players selected 1OA should dominate right away!" No. It took Lafleur a few years to figure it out. Joe Thornton? He was almost run out of Boston when Samsonov looked better early on. Eventually he was. Big body players take time. Players with no previous experience on NA ice take time to adjust to less time and space.

Some people don't know how to live without having something or someone to be angry at.

I believe he will breakout too. It's all there. He just needs to be granted the time to grow up as a player.

Brilliant post mirroring my sentiment exactly. I can't say whether he'll bust or outperform his future contract. But I will give him a lot of time to develop as I'm sure the organization will as well.

 

[Erika]

Still wonder why it's a problem to pay through the nose a surefire player that will end up helping you in a salary cap that will be much higher.

By the way sometimes....a player asks for that. What happens if a player ask that to bet on himself to get a better contract after? I know I would love it. I would think that the player is confidence enough to show much mroe than he's showing.

CLEARLY, they think the world out of him. They picked him. Gave him that contract right away. Us having thoughts is irrelevant to the contract. But if he doesn't pan out and become a 3rd liner....I wonder how much ''it was worth it'' we will continue to hear....

He is already playing like a 2nd liner as a 20 years old... 3rd liner is his floor while the 1st liner is his potential.

For him to become a legit 1st liner, he just needs consistency through a full season. If Slaf can start putting the same offensive stats in the first half of the season the same way he does in the second half, then he's a surefire 65-80 points yearly power forward complementary 1st line player ala Rantanen lite.

 

[japhi27returns]

50points... D3

Caufield was at 43
Suzuki at 41

I think those that are so confident in a low ceiling for him continue to forget just how young he is.

Yup. I can list numerous hall of fame players that he is well ahead of at 20 but it won’t matter, there is a small group here with a strong bias against the player. They feel that because he went 1oa he should be performing at some certain level.

Personally I see a future near ppg power forward and I wouldn’t trade him for anyone else in his draft class. He has shown flashes of dominance that guys like Wright and Cooley will never have.

 

[Whitesnake]

I've been on a few Habs boards over the years and various social media platforms. There are a fairly large number of bad apples. This isn't limited to our team of course. It's a generalization of sports fans, but also society.

If Montreal had opted to put Juraj in Laval for his first year the people bemoaning his progression in Montreal would have called him a bust for not making the team in his first camp.

Personnally I'm not even at the point of thinking about fans. It,s for the kid himself. I will never understand how you could take a European and put him in a NHL ice with NHL players at the NHL level unless you are an exceptional. I don't get it. And I will never do.

ESPECIALLY WHEN the GM himself says that the guy we picked is somebody we pick for down the road not immediately. That was for me the perfect intro for having him in Laval.

 

[Whitesnake]

50points... D3

Caufield was at 43
Suzuki at 41

I think those that are so confident in a low ceiling for him continue to forget just how young he is.

D3 for Suzuki was 19-20 or 20-21? 19-20, it was still his very 1st season. And his linemates were mostly Domi and Habs Lehkonen. It,s talent yes. But it's opportunity a whole lot too. Slaf has the luxury to play right now with the best versions ever of both Suzuki and Caufield.

but I guess some will say that maybe both guys are playing great 'cause they have the luxury to play with a kid such Slaf and in some games...it's not entirely false for sure.