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Juraj Slafkovský: his attitude and involvement in the camp are criticized

Originally posted on Dose.ca | Last updated Sep 20, 2025 5:35 PM ET

Juraj Slafkovský is off to a flying start with the Canadiens this year. The Slovak, who is entering the first year of his eight-year contract, needs to prove that he can start his season from day one (and not just after Christmas).His bosses confronted him about this at the end of last season, and Martin St-Louis reminded us yesterday: Slaf isn’t 18 anymore, and he needs to act accordingly.

Clearly, then, we would have expected to see him attack training camp with the knife between his teeth… but according to Anthony Martineau(TVA Sports), that’s far from the case. In a video posted on his Facebook page, Martineau explained how much he didn’t like Slaf ‘s attitude and effort in practice this morning.

He looked bad against an ECHL player (Darick Louis-Jean), and instead of being whipped in his pride, he just smiled.

And that, in effect, is what club officials are blaming Slafkovský for: the forward needs to show discipline and effort, which we don’t seem to be seeing at the moment.

It’s still early days and there’s still time for things to change… but therein lies the problem: after everything we’ve heard about Slaf from his bosses, it’s worrying to see that the message hasn’t got through at the start of camp.It’s possible that the Slovakian is simply having a bad day. But for a guy who’s starting a new contract and says he’s motivated to have a big start to the season, that’s not the kind of attitude you want to see.You play the way you practice, after all.Let’s see if Slaf can adjust over the next few days, but this is definitely a story to keep an eye on. Spacer title=’Overtime’]- I like it. How about you?

Built for Oil Country

The Oilers unveil their new alternate jerseys : @EdmontonOilers pic.twitter.com/lClvlxPKs5– Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) September 20, 2025

– Jake Evans sees him being good in that role too. Could the two be a pair?

Alex Newhook on the power play: “I think I can fill that role“https://t.co/v4iQCDq7Bi –

RDS (@RDSca) September 20, 2025

– That’s a fight to watch.

A battle between Kahkonen and Dobes for the backup goalie positionhttps://t.co/Ys0Sa3wHDV–

RDS (@RDSca) September 20, 2025

– Interesting.

Chris Johnston: Re futures of Connor McDavid, Kirill Kaprizov, Quinn Hughes, Sidney Crosby: “Let me put it this way: I’d be surprised if all of the players you’ve mentioned there started the 2026-27 season in the same cities they currently call home” – The Athletic (9/20)

– NHL Rumour Report (@NHLRumourReport) September 20, 2025

– He doesn’t want to leave the Bronx.