Time will tell if GM Kent Hughes made smart move by giving the 20-year-old an eight-year, US$60.8-million contract, but it makes sense now.
“Yesterday, I couldn’t believe how fast it happened and I was just in a shock,” Slafkovsky said during a Zoom conference Tuesday from his home in Slovakia. “I had to wake up for some medical tests today, so I couldn’t really celebrate. I’m here with my family and with my friends and everyone important around me. No celebration yet … but maybe during the weekend.”
Slafkovsky has a lot to celebrate.
That’s a lot of money for any 20-year-old to wrap his mind around.
“I’m still kind of enjoying what happened and didn’t really think about it,” Slafkovsky said when asked about the life-changing dollars. “There is smart people around me — smarter than me — so I’m sure they will help me make the right decisions.”
Time will tell if Canadiens GM Kent Hughes was smart to give Slafkovsky so much money after only two seasons in the NHL.
If Suzuki, Caufield and Slafkovsky continue to progress the way the Canadiens hope they will, their contracts will look like bargains in a few years with the NHL salary cap rising.
Slafkovsky still has one season remaining on his entry-level contract with a US$950,000 cap hit. He could have waited to sign a new contract until after next season and might have gotten even more money if he ended up scoring 30 goals.
“I knew I wanted to re-sign and if there would be a chance … for me it’s not about money,” Slafkovsky said. “I just want to stay (in Montreal).
“If I wanted more money or something else, I could wait or I could think about all these other things,” he added. “But I feel like it’s done now and it’s out of the way and I don’t have to think about it. I can just focus on playing and focus on winning — and that’s the most important thing to me. So I’m happy that I have a contract for another nine years with Montreal. I want to win and I want to build something special with the other guys.”
The 6-foot-3, 230-pound Slafkovsky is one of the Canadiens’ biggest building blocks.
“It’s more like a dream, but that’s what I was working for my whole life,” Slafkovsky said about his new contract. “I wanted to be in this spot and I wanted to put myself in this spot. Now it’s just time to get some wins and think about the other important stuff, not the contracts and everything.”
One of the reasons the Canadiens selected Slafkovsky with the No. 1 overall pick at the 2022 NHL Draft was because they believed he had the maturity and the confidence to succeed under the bright spotlight in Montreal. He has handled everything since being drafted — the ups and the downs — with a maturity way beyond his years.
“I believe in myself even more when I see that other people trust me and trust my skills and trust me as a person and that’s only helping me,” Slafkovsky said. “I feel like it’s been like that ever since I came to Montreal. Everyone around me was just trusting me all the time and wanted to make me better and everything. It’s just even bigger now. Obviously, I want to give back. I want to perform and do everything so they know that they made the right decision.
“I love Montreal and I feel like we are on a good path and I feel like we’re building something very special and I just want to be part of it as long as I can.”