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Juraj Slafkovsky, Montreal Canadien

Habsy said:
We see what they saw in him. He wants to improve and keep improving. Always extra time on the ice. If that's hardwired in him? I take the risk and go long-term. Hughes will know better than we if that is the case.
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From a team building perspective, the 2nd and 3rd happiest people on the planet in the event of a LT contract are 14 and 22.

This could be an opportunity to have a top flight line for one hockey generation. Why fuck around with that?
 
lecoqsportif said:
Byfield is a benchmark, perhaps. He’s up this season.

But 6.5… might not get it done.
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If they're as confident in him as I think they are. And if their goal is to ink him to a long-term deal this year, I'd say, go for the gusto. CC and Nick are signed until they're roughly 30. So I say, try 6.8-7 x 10 years. That would keep those three in Habs sweaters until they're around 30 years old. Then we can say we have our top line set and we can focus elsewhere. And with the cap ceiling increasing, these contracts will be a bargain.

EDIT: Just realized the cap is 8 years. So maybe a small bridge deal first and then go for it, lol. Or simply wait one more year and if you have to bump him closer to Nick/CC in pay if he performs, just do it.
 
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lecoqsportif said:
From a team building perspective, the 2nd and 3rd happiest people on the planet in the event of a LT contract are 14 and 22.

This could be an opportunity to have a top flight line for one hockey generation. Why fuck around with that?
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And imagine if they can build a better line so that one drops to 2? Yes please. Now you're talking contender. Lots of work to do.
 
GGpX said:
I've actually somewhat changed my mind on bridge deals, to an extent. As a fan of a team, I don't hate bridge deals for good players as much as I used to because they'll allow the team to have clear control of a player for the entirety of his prime if properly done. If we give Slaf a 3 year bridge deal, similar to what Zegras got (3 years, $5.75M AAV) then we'd have the opportunity to sign him to an 8 year contract at 24, which would keep him under control until the age of 32. After that, assuming he's not a future HHOFer, you cut him loose (or smartly trade him with 2-3 years left on the contract) instead of re-signing him once more.

However, for good to great player, bridge deals are the best way to maximize the potential earnings is to do what Auston Matthews is doing: Leverage your second contract directly with your pending Free Agency. And then, when said player is 25/26, sign another 3/4 year deal, maximize your leverage again, and finally, around 29/30 years old, sign the long term retirement contract.

For depth players, don't give a shit. Bridge deals are the only thing they should be getting.
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The thing with handing max term to your young core is the number has to make sense , especially those who havent taken off like Slaf but still have much more to give

I have no issue with the Hughes , Cozens, Brady T, Stuzle , Heiskanen , Caufield etc.... contracts

Players are smart to get security for life and at 30 there is still a good payday ahead if your productive

Hughes is injury prone , Cole had major shoulder surgery , WTF risk it on a bridge deal to maybe make another 10% if all goes well

7ish for Slaf is fair for both sides , even if he tops out at 60 points its not a stupid contract

Not many examples of teams getting burnt going full term with these contracts
 
worm said:
More confident in him than I ever was kk or Chuck.

And yes I know it is a low bar
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I don't know if I'm more confident in Slaf than Galchenyuk. Overall... probably, yeah.

The thing that always bothered me about Galchenyuk was how we put him in the NHL prematurely and we never made a conscious effort to play him at center despite the organization repeatedly saying he's a center.
 
I let Slaf play and sign him for what he is worth when the time comes. I hope he will be a star, and think he will be a star. But i am not sold enough to ink long term yet.
 
GGpX said:
I don't know if I'm more confident in Slaf than Galchenyuk. Overall... probably, yeah.

The thing that always bothered me about Galchenyuk was how we put him in the NHL prematurely and we never made a conscious effort to play him at center despite the organization repeatedly saying he's a center.
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He just didn’t have the hockey IQ. Every single coach tried him at center for like 2-3 games before realizing that he’s just not a center.
 
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Alan C said:
I let Slaf play and sign him for what he is worth when the time comes. I hope he will be a star, and think he will be a star. But i am not sold enough to ink long term yet.
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7ish is minimal risk

FFS your paying Anderson 5.5
 
Ran across this very interesting article from Dec 2023. Now, I'm no advanced-stats/metric geek. Eye-test was showing these signs to me as early as mid-Nov when Anderson and others were flubbing beautiful setups from Slaf. And this continued into December with various linemates...this was a gutsy prediction by this writer considering anyone praising Slaf or saying he's about to breakout, was getting mostly, summarily mocked everywhere on social media.

www.forhockeyfans.com

The points are about to start flowing for Juraj Slafkovský

The first overall pick from the 2022 NHL Draft only has eight points this season. That's about to change.
www.forhockeyfans.com www.forhockeyfans.com
 
GrandWazoo said:
Personally I already like him better than Cole. He has consistently more impact on the games. Different skill set though.
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A guy drafted 1OA should be more impactful than a guy drafted 15OA, irrespective of the relative quality of each player's draft class.
 
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