Juraj Slafkovský has (really) matured, says Martin St-Louis

At just 21 years of age, Juraj Slafkovsky is about to embark on his fourth season with the Canadiens, as well as the first year of an eight-year, $7.6 million-a-year contract.

Although still young, he is increasingly part of the team’s core of young veterans, and it will be important for him to lead by example , as he can sometimes be criticized for a lack of commitment. His coach Martin St-Louis has made it clear: Slafkovsky must be mature in his game and on the ice.

Above all, however, he will have to justify his salary by increasing his offensive production, given that the forward has scored 50 and 51 points in his two full seasons with the Habs. That’s respectable production, but the Slovak can do better by being more consistent and, above all, by scoring more at the start of the season, when he’s better in the second half of the calendar. Moreover, St-Louis appreciates what he’s seen from Slaf so far at practice camp:

“I like his commitment, I like his pace. He’s taking every rehearsal seriously in practice […] he’s taken it up a notch in terms of maturity.”