Habs Mailbag: Canadiens’ Slafkovsky Recalls LeClair Memories

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Which player would you compare Juraj Slafkovsky’s playing style to?

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Hugh Roberts

It’s difficult to compare players from different generations, but the more I watched Slafkovsky improve dramatically in the second half of last season, the more he reminded me of former Canadian John LeClair.

They are both wingers, both left-footers and are nearly the same size: Slafkovsky is 6-foot-3 and weighs 230 pounds, while LeClair was 6-foot-3 and weighed 230 pounds when he played.

After scoring 19 goals in each of his last two full seasons with the Canadiens, LeClair really gained confidence and learned to use his size and shot to his advantage after being traded to the Philadelphia Flyers, resulting in three straight 50-goal seasons in Philadelphia while playing on the Legion of Doom line with Eric Lindros and Mikael Renberg.

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LeClair was 26 when he had his first 50-goal season. Slafkovsky just turned 20 and is coming off his first 20-goal season. There is no guarantee that Slavkovsky will be a 50-goal scorer, but I definitely see similarities to LeClair.

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Who will be the first Canadiens player to make more money than Nick Suzuki? I say Ivan Demidov if he becomes what we think he will become.

Mick Chow

Suzuki is signed through the 2029-30 season with an annual salary cap hit of $7.857 million, so there’s a chance Demidov could outperform the team’s captain in the future if he scores the way the Canadiens hope he can after selecting the Russian winger fifth overall in this year’s NHL Draft. But I suspect the first player worth more than Suzuki will be a free-agent signing, either next summer or the year after, when the Canadiens are at a stage in their rebuilding process where GM Kent Hughes is willing to go shopping. It could also be a player Hughes acquires in a trade.

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In your opinion, has Montreal management achieved its offseason goals in rebuilding this Habs roster? If not, what still needs to happen?

Ed Helinski

The Canadiens need more forwards who can play offense and they selected two players with the potential to do that in the future with their first-round picks in the NHL Draft: Demidov and Michael Hage (No. 21 overall).

Jeff Gorton, the executive vice president of hockey operations, indicated before the draft that management wanted to do something to accelerate the rebuild and compete for a playoff spot. I still believe Hughes will make a deal — or at least try to make one — to acquire another top-six forward or a young player with the potential to become one. If that doesn’t happen, I don’t think management has accomplished its goals.

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Have you heard who’s in line to coach the Canadiens’ power play next season? Why is it taking so long for them to sign all the other assistant coaches?

Sheldon Stein

Hughes recently stated that Martin St. Louis’ assistant coaches — Trevor Letowski and Stéphane Robidas — will be back next season and that he would talk to St. Louis about who he would like to replace Alex Burrows as an assistant coach — or whether St. Louis would prefer to keep two assistants behind the bench. I think St. Louis would really benefit from another assistant coach with significant NHL coaching experience — particularly on the power play. It will also be interesting to see what Vincent Lecavalier’s role ultimately becomes with the Canadiens. He’s currently a special advisor for hockey operations and has scored 127 of his 421 NHL goals on the power play. Hughes still needs to sign someone to replace Jean-François Houle as head coach of the Laval Rocket in the AHL. I expect those positions to be filled by the end of the month.

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Do you see a bigger role for Michael Pezzetta? The energy he brings to every shift is special. When he’s on the ice, I rarely notice anyone else.

Paul Martin

I don’t see a bigger role for Pezzetta, but I do believe he can continue to fill an important role as an energy player on the fourth line — which is not an easy role to play with limited ice time. I also enjoy watching Pezzetta play because he gives it his all every shift and never misses an opportunity to throw a clean body check. He’s also willing to defend his teammates when necessary.

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