The Montreal Canadiens had the ability to sign Juraj Slafkovský to a contract extension on July 1, the start of the third year of his entry-level contract. They have done just that inking him to an eight-year deal that will carry through to the end of the 2032-33 season.
Slafkovský blossomed during the 2023-24 campaign after a quiet rookie season in the NHL. He finished his sophomore year with 50 points in 82 games, a total that ranked fourth on the team. Going back to the road trips that began for Montreal in mid-December, a few days after getting promoted to the top line, he registered 43 points in the final 53 games, a points-per-game average of 0.81.
Kent Hughes witnessed Slafkovský’s breakout last season and wanted to get a contract done before another leap in the final year of his current contract. The general manager feels he’s been able to sign the first overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft at a bargain compared to what he would be worth a season from now, and may have gained a bit of extra cap space for the future with this early signing.
The deal has an average annual value of $7.6 million — about 8.3% of the projected $92 million salary cap for 2025-26 — coming in lower than the deal for Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield despite the rising salary cap.
