Here’s why Kreider didn’t “steal” Slaf’s spot on the first line

Marc-Olivier Cook
Here’s why Kreider didn’t “steal” Slaf’s spot on the first line
Credit: Pat Guillet

Chris Kreider didn't steal Juraj Slafkovsky's spot on the Canadiens' top line.

Because, in reality… the Habs had planned to move Slaf down to the second line. The problem?

Before acquiring Kreider, Martin St-Louis didn't necessarily have the luxury of keeping the tall Slovak alongside Ivan Demidov.

The goal, in fact, is to allow Slaf to control the puck more—something he excels at on the ice. Playing with Suzuki and Caufield, his role is different: he's expected to win pucks with his forechecking and drive to the net to finish off plays set up by the other two.

But playing on the second line allows him to have the puck on his stick more often… and we know he's capable of creating plays with his vision.

And indirectly, this can also help Ivan Demidov be even more dangerous on the ice because Slaf creates space. Arpon Basu explains it well in the following article:

So adding Kreider to the top line makes sense when you think about it.

Nick and Cole will have a guy on their line whose skills are actually quite similar to Slaf's… and Slaf, for his part, will be able to take control of the second line if needed.

And the fact that this balances out the lines even more is also beneficial for the Canadiens.

We've seen it in recent years, after all: when the top line was on its game, the team had a good chance of winning. But when Suzuki, Caufield, AND Slafkovsky were having quieter nights, the Habs struggled to generate offense.

We'll see how this plays out, then.


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