Hockey

Juraj Slafkovský: JiC wants him out of the first line
Félix Forget
Juraj Slafkovský: JiC wants him out of the first line
Credit: Getty Images

Last year, at the end of the season, the Canadiens' first line really took a big step forward. Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovský took their game up a notch in the final weeks of the campaign, helping the club qualify for the playoffs.The three guys complement each other well on the ice, and they've figured out how to translate that into results.In the eyes of many, then, we should expect to see the three guys back together again at the start of the season. But there are those who see things differently. Jean-Charles Lajoie, who talked about it on his JiC show tonight, is one of them: in his eyes, the Habs need to get Slaf out of the first line.And the reason is simple: it would allow the Habs to have a much more balanced line-up.

That way, for example, the club wouldn't have to put Patrik Laine and Ivan Demidov on the same line and could avoid problems on the defensive end. Martin St-Louis could put one of these two guys on the first line and send Slaf to complete a second unit. And in essence, this point is defensible… except that the club would be taking a big risk. Right now, they only have one line that's a real sure thing, and removing Slaf from that line (which was one of the best in the NHL last year) would mean the club would lose that advantage.If the club needs a jolt, splitting up the first line could be an option. But at the start of the season, I find it hard to imagine the Habs going ahead with such an idea… especially as we don't even know if the second line will really be a problem defensively.As things stand, it would be a bit like robbing Peter to pay Paul, in my eyes. But if Paul ever starts to get really cold (read here “the Laine-Demidov duo isn't working”), maybe it'll become an idea to consider.And when you see the three guys from the first line together in the same group at camp, it doesn't look like this wardrobe makeover will happen tomorrow morning.

'Overtime'

– Big Patrik, that.

– Indeed.

– Great opportunity for

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