Montreal Canadiens Role Profiles: Juraj Slafkovsky

On offence, Slafkovsky is really a triple threat, as he could also use his great hands to deke out an opponent. There are times when he uses his body to protect the puck and outmuscle his opponent to create a scoring chance for himself. Slafkovsky has now shown the Montreal Canadiens that he has some versatility and adaptability as well. Last season, he showed he can be the player who helps create more room for his usual linemates Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. However, when needed, he also became the go-to guy when he played with Ivan Demidov and Oliver Kapanen.

Slafkovsky will likely start the year on the top line for the Montreal Canadiens with Suzuki and Caufield again, barring any trade for another power winger before the end of the off-season. Last season, the Caufield-Suzuki-Slafkovsky line was easily a top five line in all of hockey, as they finished tied for the most goals by a single line in the league with 110. While Suzuki and Caufield hit the amazing milestones that they did, none of that would have been possible without Slafkovsky putting in the work that he did to give them more room as well as well as setting them up for numerous goals.

In previous seasons, Slafkovsky had started his regular season slow, but this past year, he showed more consistency in his game, which allowed him to go from a player who puts up around 20 goals and 50 points to a menace that scores 30 goals and 70 points. It also helped that he started to shoot the puck more.

The most impressive stat that came from Slafkovsky last season was that he led all Montreal Canadiens players in power play goals, scoring 14 of his 30 goals on the man advantage. Slafkovsky scored the majority of his goals in tight from the slot as he’d either play right in front or from the bumper.

In the postseason, Slafkovsky started as a serious threat on the man advantage as he scored a hat trick in Game 1 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, with all goals scored on the power play. Unfortunately, the following game, he would get into a fight with forward Brandon Hagel, who knocked him out, slowing him down for the majority of the postseason after that. That fight made it clear that Slafkovsky shouldn’t get caught up in fights, as it took away all the momentum that he built from an incredible regular season and Game 1 of the playoffs. Slafkovsky thrives when he plays physically by throwing hits, but when it comes to fighting, that is something that he should shy away from, as it doesn’t help his game.

Nonetheless, he still had an incredible season that he will certainly look to build on in the 2026-27 season. Expect around the same production from Slafkovsky in his role as a top-line power forward. Although it wouldn’t be shocking to see him top 35 goals this upcoming season or in the near future.