Juraj Slafkovsky learns not to become Brendan Gallagher

Brendan Gallagher, as we all know, isn’t the player he used to be. But for a moment, let’s go back in time.

Gally, in his heyday, made his mark as a very intense and involved player. His style of play meant he didn ‘t always have the best relationship with referees.

He didn’t hesitate to criticize them.

And for years now, he’s been paying the price. For what? By being unable to score when he touches the goalkeeper, since this is still considered interference. In fact, he no longer gets the benefit of the doubt.

All because he cried too much when he was young.

And that brings us to Juraj Slafkovsky. The 2022 first-round pick is currently in a bad way, with five penalties in two games, on February 21 and 27. On top of that, he’s whining about the referees.

As Jonathan Bernier(Journal de Montréal) mentioned in a recent article, Slaf knows he needs to calm down in this area. He understands that arguing against the referees for his own mistakes won’t help him in the short term… or the long term.

Taking punishment is sometimes acceptable, depending on the context. However, when the same mistake is made over and over again, that’s when you start to feel that there’s a problem to be solved.

The guy’s a monster of grandeur: he’s got to keep his stick down.

Because Slaf is an intense guy (we see more and more, on the rink, how angry he can get when the club isn’t playing well or when he misses), this will sometimes come out on the rink.

Martin St-Louis knows, however, that his young player must not only stop taking nasty penalties, but must also keep in mind that a rookie and a veteran are not treated the same in the eyes of a referee.

Referees will be more patient with an emotional veteran. With young players, they’ll be a little less patient. – Martin St-Louis

Of course, it’s not too late for Slaf to put things right: it’s normal for the young man to have more than his fair share of qualities when he’s still taking his first steps in the NHL. He hasn’t even played 100 games yet…

But there’s still a direct correlation between the games where he’s more undisciplined and the games where he produces.

In a nutshell

– He loves his life in Philly.

– He should face the Habs.

– Good question.

– It’ll be stirring in a year.

– Vladimir Tarasenko will be traded, says David Pagnotta.