The Montreal Canadiens had high expectations for Juraj Slafkovsky when they signed him to an eight-year, $60.8 million extension in July.
The former 2022 first-overall pick showed plenty of promise during the 2023-24 campaign, tallying 20 goals and 30 assists without missing a game. The performance left Montreal fans believing that Slafkovsky was finally ready to reach his draft potential.
A lot of that optimism died off shortly after the 2024-25 season began, though. Slafkovsky has struggled to replicate last year’s offensive success as he’s only scored two goals on 27 shots in his first 22 games.
Looking to turn Slafkovsky’s luck around, head coach Martin St. Louis paired the struggling forward alongside Kirby Dach and a returning Patrik Laine ahead of Tuesday’s game against the New York Islanders. St. Louis’ plan ended up paying off as the Canadiens picked up a 2-1 overtime win, which included Laine’s first goal of the campaign.
Although Slafkovsky didn’t have a point in the win, he still made his presence felt by getting physical with six hits. The elevated performance was a result of the 20-year-old forward receiving a wake-up call from Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes on Monday.
“I got (expletive) yesterday from (GM Hughes)… I had to wake up,” Slafkovsky said after Tuesday’s win, per The Athletic’s Arpon Basu. “Sometimes it’s good to have meetings where you face the truth. I feel like it’s only going to get better from now if I do what I did today.”
Slafkovsky added that while St. Louis does a good job of motivating his players, there was something different about Hughes’ message.
“Obviously, it’s enough when (St. Louis) tells me (to wake up),” Slafkovsky added. “But for some reason, I wasn’t doing what I was doing in the past games. Tonight was better.”
Slafkovsky certainly looked like he had a new lease on life in the Canadiens’ ninth win of the season. With how well he played alongside Dach and Laine, there likely aren’t any plans to break them up going forward.

“I thought they looked good tonight,” St. Louis said about the trio. “I know it’s one game, but it’s something to build off. They’re going to have to repeat that and keep getting better together every game.”
Even though there’s chemistry on the newly formed second line, St. Louis won’t let one game raise his expectations too high. Slafkovsky, Dach and Laine will need more time together to prove whether their first performance was a one-off or not.
“With that line, to me, it’s a good first game,” St. Louis said. “I’d rather have a good first game than a bad one, but I wouldn’t overreact with a bad one, so I’m not going to overreact with a good one.”
Slafkovsky and his linemates will have the chance to build on their solid performance when the Nashville Predators visit Bell Centre on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET.