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LW Juraj Slafkovsky (2022, 1st, MTL) Part 3

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MichaelFarrell said:
Jack Hughes looked like a 15 year old boy though. Slafkovsky looks like a 30 year old man lol.

Slaf will be just fine though. He was drafted for his potential as a goal scoring power forward. They usually take time to develop.
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Could end up Radek Bonk also.
He was condidered no1 for a l8mg time, like... 97?
 
majormajor said:
Yes let's just incur problems that we can hopefully fix in later contract negotiations. Hopefully Juraj will want to be a Hab for life and give a nice discount. Better that than think forward in an important season like this one.
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Your logic is the same as reducing a players ice time in a contract year in order to try and get a lower AAV.

Teams do not sabotage a player for team gain. Not arguing whether or not I agree with keeping Slaf up, but obviously Habs management feels it's best for him and a year of elc is not a concern.
 
Frank Drebin said:
Your logic is the same as reducing a players ice time in a contract year in order to try and get a lower AAV.

Teams do not sabotage a player for team gain. Not arguing whether or not I agree with keeping Slaf up, but obviously Habs management feels it's best for him and a year of elc is not a concern.
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You think the FO would consider an AHL assignment sabotage?
 
majormajor said:
You think the FO would consider an AHL assignment sabotage?
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I will try to clarify.

Clearly, Montreal front office believes that keeping Slaf in the NHL is what's best for him. If they didn't, he would currently be in the AHL. I'm not saying I agree or disagree - I'm saying this is what Montreals FO believes.

Demoting him to the AHL, in managements mind, would not be what is in his best interest, so yeah, it would be a form of career sabotage, albeit temporary, in order to save a year of ELC.
 
Dreger said on TSN the other day MTL management is considering all options for Slaf and isn't opposed to sending him to the AHL. He then went on to speculate he will be sent down at some point if his play stagnates.
 
gifted88 said:
Dreger said on TSN the other day MTL management is considering all options for Slaf and isn't opposed to sending him to the AHL. He then went on to speculate he will be sent down at some point if his play stagnates.
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"Stagnant" is how I would describe his whole season thus far.

He's trending towards being KK 2.0
 
JohnLennon said:
How do you draw the conclusion that Slafkovsky has been stagnant the entire season?
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He doesn't, hasn't really watched Slaf play all games this season, just stat-watching.

And besides, saying that Slafkovsky hasn't improved at all or been stagnant is a fallacy.

He has learned to be harder on the puck along the boards, to make plays a little faster and with more direct intent offensively, and Slafkovsky has also learned to be better defensively 5-on-5. In the beginning of the season Slafkovsky was very tentative out there, and while he still seemingly gets bowled-over every second game getting caught with his head down watching the puck, he looks a little more comfortable on the ice now.

Though it doesn't help that the team has absolutely atrocious structure and scheme defensively/transition-wise. And then you add in the fact that because of personnel reasons we are forced to run 4/5 rookies on D nightly, with overpaid/overplayed veterans crowding the wing positions, and injuries weakening/hobbling an already-weak team.

That whole shit storm leads to poor confidence in players, which leads to underperformance, and Slaf is of course affected, just like every other player on the team.

So yeah, amidst the ups and downs (mostly downs these days) of the Montreal Canadiens' 2022-2023 season, Slafkovsky has steadily improved on the ice. Though not in the spectacular, stats-padding fashion (unrealistic expectations really) many would have wanted.

But where I think Slafkovsky has benefited the most is in seeing first-hand what it is like playing against pros in the NHL, what it takes to play a physical game there, and what/how he should train to be better during the offseason. Being physically imposing alone isn't enough anymore in the NHL, unlike in many other leagues, as there are many players that have close to Slafkovsky's size/strength there and he cannot get by on sheer size/power anymore.

If Slafkovsky wants to be able to dominate in that aspect in the NHL itself, and he does have that potential, then he will need to learn to play with more agressiveness, execute/evaluate his options faster on the ice, to take better angles to close-off opponents more effectively along the boards, build yet more strength through growth/natural maturation, and progress his all-around game like most prospects do, among other things.

To be clear, I actually think this is one of the main reasons why Slafkovsky is still up in the NHL despite not being a dominant offensive force out there; to really hammer into him what it is like to play against the best every night so he takes that experience into account while training in the offseason and comes back way stronger/more ready for his second go-around and beyond.

Those are unseen gains, very hard to gauge, and will only bear fruit as Slafkovsky trains/progresses over the years, if he accurately manages to self-reflect and improve on his weaknesses to become a better player.

Now, the only contentious element about Slafkovsky's career in the NHL for me so far is whether or not he could have made the same adjustments in the AHL, learnt the same lessons there while also possibly gaining more confidence as he would more easily be able to produce in the AHL as opposed to the NHL.

And, to be completely frank, I think he could have, as the AHL is actually just as physical as the NHL and he would have had to face a strong competition (if lesser) from the get-go there as well but been better prepared to perform there offensively vs. the NHL.

But, by allowing Slafkovsky to get an NHL paycheck for his first season, management are also "buying" themselves goodwill, which they might think is important in making Slafkovsky feel/know that he will be well-treated in Montreal, which they also might feel is important in fostering a good team culture / helping with motivation and development.

In the end, the point is moot as our opinions have no real incidence on how Slafkovsky's career plays out in the years to come. But well, a sense of overriding futility is a vital part of the process. Embrace it.

And cheers, have a nice day. I'm personally off to get drunk out of my mind with friends. Good times.
 
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There is something slightly humorous about burning his ELC and FA year right before shutting down his season for an avoidable injury...
 
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SwedishFire said:
Could end up Radek Bonk also.
He was condidered no1 for a l8mg time, like... 97?
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I'd take that, Bonk was a 55-70 pt player in his prime which was also the DPE. He had scoring finishes of T21st which would be 86 pts last year, 52nd (69 pts last year) and was a very valuable piece to have as a big physically imposing Centre.

If slaf got anywhere near the top 30 in pts in his prime I would be over the moon, however I would also hope for a bit longer prime as Bonk was really only a strong offensive player for 4 seasons sandwiched between a bunch of mediocre ones.
 
I no longer post in here but I had to log in for that one... I am pissed!

Habs management are fully responsible for that one. It was obvious that he was unable to read the play at a NHL pace. Contrary to a 18 years old north american player (a guy like Roy for instance), they had the opportunity to send him in th AHL where it would have been a smoother transition. They dropped the ball big time, the guy was often looking oblivious out there.
 
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Drafted as very raw. And raw players means often meqns athleticism, inposing stature, with some forcing drive. And so on. But the smartness, and the little things?

I do belive that Slaf is a better choice than Wright. But Slafkovsky is himself, I dont think he will be a 2 way player or such, he is offensive only.
 
Kjell Dahlin said:
I no longer post in here but I had to log in for that one... I am pissed!

Habs management are fully responsible for that one. It was obvious that he was unable to read the play at a NHL pace. Contrary to a 18 years old north american player (a guy like Roy for instance), they had the opportunity to send him in th AHL where it would have been a smoother transition. They dropped the ball big time, the guy was often looking oblivious out there.
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If Bergevin had handled him exactly like Hugues has there would be absolute riots. But now ... (crickets)...
 
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Kjell Dahlin said:
I no longer post in here but I had to log in for that one... I am pissed!

Habs management are fully responsible for that one (Slaf). It was obvious that he was unable to read the play at a NHL pace.
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Agreed. They also rushed Joel Armia and Jake Evans, who also got unnecessarily injured instead of being safely in Laval learning their trade some more.

kabidjan18 said:
There is something slightly humorous about burning his ELC and FA year right before shutting down his season for an avoidable injury...
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Avoidable - how? Was it more avoidable than Armia's injury?
 
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