It's Been a Difficult Month for Habs Fans, But Juraj Slafkovský Has Arrived

The past month has been tough, I'd even say borderline traumatic for Montreal Canadiens fans. After a promising start to the season that hinted at something special building in Montreal, the injury bug hit the roster hard. Multiple players from the team’s middle six went down, and the result has been a string of losses that’s drained much of the early optimism.

It’s an undeniably frustrating time. But even in the middle of this skid, there’s one massive positive emerging.

Juraj Slafkovský has taken his game to a completely new level over this past month. While team results haven’t been ideal nor do his individual stats jump off the page, Slafkovský himself has elevated his play in ways we hadn’t consistently seen before.

This season, he’s driving play with far more authority. He’s morphing into the true power forward everyone hoped he could become. Earlier in his career, he was often viewed as someone simply riding shotgun with Cole Caulfield and Nick Suzuki, benefiting from their elite skill and chemistry.

That narrative doesn’t apply anymore.

During the Canadiens’ recent struggles, Martin St. Louis made a key adjustment: moving Slafkovský down to the second line. The decision was strategic, pairing him with Ivan Demidov to help balance the top two lines while the team battles injuries.

And it worked in Slafkovský’s favour.

That extra responsibility has unlocked another gear in his game. Now one of the most relied-upon players on his line, he’s responded with noticeably increased confidence and assertiveness.

He’s throwing his weight around more. He’s playing heavier, hungrier, and more engaged. He looks like a player who wants that ice time, who craves that role, and who understands he can be a difference-maker.

t this point, it’s not even a bold statement: Juraj Slafkovský has been the Canadiens’ best player over the past month. In a period filled with injuries, lineup juggling, and disappointing results, Slafkovský’s emergence has been one of the brightest spots for the organization.

He’s starting to arrive, and Canadiens fans should be excited about what that means for the future, even if this year as a whole becomes more frustarting than we expected.