Hockey

Juraj Slafkovsky is much better than Tage Thompson at the same age
Raphael Simard
Juraj Slafkovsky is much better than Tage Thompson at the same age
Credit: Getty Images

According to Marco d'Amico's reports yesterday morning, the Canadiens have called the Sabres to acquire the services of Tage Thompson.

Well, it's going to be expensive, but no one would say no to acquiring the big right-hander.

In fact, since the news broke, many people have been having fun with mock trades , and many would send Juraj Slafkovsky to Buffalo. Max Lalonde would take him to the airport himself.

The two forwards are very similar, but one is a right-handed center and the other a left-handed winger…

Today, Tony Marinaro released a very interesting chart, proving that Slafkovsky isn't a finished product and that trading him one-for-one for Tage Thompson would be a mistake.

According to the chart above, Slaf was better at 19 than Thompson was at 23.

It took Thompson four seasons to eclipse the 50-point mark, while it took the Slovak just two.

Slaf may never have made 94 points like the other, but he's only 21. The Sabres' protégé scored 94 points at 25. Even before seeing these numbers, I would never have traded Slaf for Thompson, who is seven years older than the Montreal winger…

For big guys (Thompson is 6 foot 6 and Slaf is 6 foot 3), the adaptation period is sometimes longer. Before arriving in the NHL, they dominated through their physical strength, and while that's still the case in the NHL, there's a lot more talent, so they can't rely solely on their physique.

Even though Slaf only has nine points in 16 games this season, I see him being much more involved this season. He's physical, protects the puck well and is more aggressive on the disc carrier. He may never score 90 points, but his role – especially with the arrival of Ivan Demidov – won't be to collect points by the ton.

That said, I wouldn't say no to Thompson… but not against Slafkovsky.


Overtime

– Of note.

– Why Zachary Bolduc is down [TVA Sports]

– Listen now.

– The Alouettes are much better with him in the lineup.

– Heavy loss for the Jackets.

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