Slaf: Guillaume Latendresse offers him a contract similar to Suzuki’s and Caufield’s

Juraj Slafkovsky is currently in the second year of his three-year entry-level contract.

He’s been performing well (very well, in fact) for the past 30 games or so…

Which makes us wonder what his next contract with the Habs will look like.

The Slovak, who writes texts for the NHL website, is part of the core right now and could become the team’s offensive cornerstone.

It’s a little difficult to estimate the young man’s value at the moment, as he only has 104 games of NHL experience…

But Guillaume Latendresse has seen enough: the former Habs player wouldn’t hesitate before offering him a contract similar to those of Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki, who earn $7.85m and $7.875m per season respectively.

The former Habs player shared his comments on 98.5 FM:

I have no hesitation in giving him what we gave Suzuki and Caufield, in trying to negotiate to get a first trio that has the same deal, that looks the same and that everyone is happy. – Guillaume Latendresse

It makes sense, because Jack Hughes (1st overall pick in 2019) signed an eight-year contract, valued at $8M per season, as he began his third season in the National League.

The stats of Slaf and Hughes at the start of their respective careers are very similar:

Slaf’s progression is fascinating.

After all, the Habs forward seems to be improving from game to game, even if it’s been tougher on the stats front lately…

And it gives us hope, because we all agree that his first 50 games in the National League were pretty ordinary, even if we did see flashes.

Juraj Slafkovsky may not yet be worth $7.5 million (or more) per season, but he could easily become a long-term bargain for the Habs at that price.

Kent Hughes will have to scratch his head over the next few months to come to a decision…

But the Habs GM has shown since his hiring that he’s not afraid to offer a big contract to a young player, signing Cole Caufield to an eight-year deal.

What I mean is, there’s no need to worry about Slaf’s contractual situation.

In bursts

– While we’re on the subject of Slaf, it’s worth noting that he’s excellent at floorball:

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– Two great legends of the Montreal organization.

– Of note:

– Max Domi looks forward to his first game in Philly in a Leafs uniform.

– Stay tuned.

– Crazy, same thing.