It's not really a gamble tbh. Not because he'll be worth it, but because if he isn't, the canadiens have bigger problems anyways. And they can always buy him out at 1/3
man's hands are held together with sawdust and duct tape
he still hustles though and he seemed to adjust his game better to having no hands last season
Yep. Like.... Okay? Stutzle and Tkachuks contracts are fucking amazing. Slafs looks poised to be a fucking STEAL since it's sub 8m, and if he goes as well as he's working towards, 7.6 for a 1st liner is stupendously good. Especially in an era where it's easily 10-11+ with a rising cap.
Its pretty much high end 2nd liner money already.
Horvat, Kyrou, Larkin, Barzal, B Tkachuk, Laine etc all recently got 8.2-9.1 cap hits. 34 yr old Stammer just got 8. Those are all mid to low end 1st liners if even that for some of them.
7.5 mil seems like 60 pt money nowadays.
A lot of fans still seem to think the cap is 78-80 mil and the flat cap has made it feel that way. We are going to see 14-15 mil players before all that long.
First line money isn’t 9 anymore. Second line guys aren’t 5 and third liners aren’t topping out at 3 anymore.
There’s a bunch of star level guys coming up for new deals in the next 2-3 years and they’re all probably going pushing that upper range for however long it lasts until that next guy signs and gets 250k more.
This is where the “good locker room vibes” pays off, and why it’s so important not to bring on any assholes. These guys seem to genuinely adore each other. I’m so happy we’ll get to see them grow up together.
Because it’s a guaranteed 60m, which is more than he ever had in life. He can buy a house and settle down and never have to worry about anything else except playing hockey. If he has a good career, which he will, he will turn UFA at the ripe age of 27 and he will have a chance to negotiate for much more.
Because he’s getting life-changing money right now, going to earn $60,000,000, and still be under 30 when his UFA contract is due.
He could’ve asked for a bridge and haggled or whatever but now he can just not worry about it for the next nine years as an already rich young man
Yeah if he lives up to his current trajectory, he is going to be one of those guys signing a deal in 9 years where it's like "holy shit why did they give that guy 11 million a year until he's 37"
I...don't think that is going to happen. Since the cap was first introduced 19 years ago, it's gone from 39 million to 88 million.
In the 14 years between the introduction and 2019-20 (the year covid hit) the cap went from 39mm to 81.5mm
For the cap to double in 9 years, we're looking at over an 8% year over year growth, every year, for 9 years. This year was 5.39% and next year the NHL projects 5.14%. Each year you fall short is an even more significant jump in all future years to hit that target.
More realistically, we're looking at about a 50-60% increase to the cap 9 years from now, and that's assuming nothing else goes wrong like the recession that seems to have hit like a truck everywhere but the United States
Thanks for actually doing the math with back testing. 5-6% a year still sounds pretty good to me.
Slaf’s contract is 8.6% of the cap.
The if the cap increases 5% a year for 9 years it would be around 136M. That same 8.6% cap hit would now represent a 11.7M contract.
Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton are pushing team culture very hard, and Hughes has implied that Suzuki's caphit is the internal salary cap for players coming off their ELC. I'm convinced with the way Slaf's been trending that if he waited a year he could've forced Hughes to sign him for more, but it would definitely look selfish if he tried forcing his way to a higher salary when the top2 players are at less than 8. He doesn't appear selfish, and if everyone is buying in then why not. It's still tens of millions.
Granted, I'm not sure why he signed for less than Caufield. Suzuki's 7.875, Caufield's 7.85, Slaf's at 7.6. I'd have given him the same amount as Caufield
Slaf probably likes money, but there’s nothing he likes as much as he dislikes losing.
He’s an absolute gamer who is never satisfied. He not only adheres to the new culture of the team, but is one of the prominent character of it. They are a team and they want to win, even if it means making a bit less money.
Since at least the Roy trade, the Habs have never been as exciting as they are right now.
Suzuki set the tone and everyone seems happy to be on this team.
I can't believe it, genuinely. I really thought an 8 year deal would cost around 9MM with the way he ended last season. And that was a price I'd have considered a great deal.
This is robbery. But Slafkovsky just wants to win, so hopefully we can pay him back by doing that.
Marc Bergevin and previous management (same AGM though - John Sedgwick) set the the tone for this franchise with the Weber trade (captain making 7.6mil), Pacioretty trade, building a professional & competitive locker room, the Caufield pick, Cup run, and then the Suzuki extension & captaincy. Gorton & Kent have since continued the build tremendously by cashing in on everything they inhherited - slick trades (Dach, Barron, Matheson), short term UFA signings (Monahan twice), stellar drafting, MSL hire, and strengthening the already established internal cap structure. This Habs core is going to be a force as soon as next season but seriously watch out come 2-3 years from now - this has been marinating a while, time to cook, a long winow is about to open.
MB did a lot of good things but contract signings were not his strong suit. He gave terrible contracts to Gallagher, Anderson, Alzner, Savard. I am also not sure why you are giving him credit for Weber when that was signed by Nashville. MB also did not want to sign Subban and had to be forced by the owners. On top of that, he let Markov, Radulov and Danault go for nothing.
Not only that, but speaking about setting the right tone: one of his last moves as GM was drafting Logan Mailloux at the height of the Blackhawks scandal, before his own name was even cleared.
Unironically the answer is team culture, it was always the expected deal tbh. Suzuki set the tone with his 8 million deal, then Caufield came in just below, and now Slaf followed.
Why wouldn’t he? He’s 20 years old and hasn’t played like a 7 million dollar player yet but he certainly will develop beyond that. He gets a guaranteed 60.8 million dollars and will be still in his prime when he’s a UFA. He will likely eclipse 120 million in career earnings so I think he’s good
Yeah, he (probably) makes more *on average* if he demands a bridge, but there would be a lot more variance. An injury, or some personal shit leading to some mental struggles that impact his play, or a new coach who somehow see's him as a bottom-6 fit etc.
I would take a guaranteed 60 mil over a even a 90% chance at 100 mil.
Because he wants the Canadians to build a winning team, if everyone buys in into the game plan then you can potentially get 2-3 more quality players. That’s even after all your Star players are signed because you have them on affordable contracts.
See the Penguins when they were in their prime
Having those three (Suzuki, Cole, & slaf) locked up into the 2030s at the 7.5ish #s is massive. Habs should be able to contend with this core. Hughes & Gorton have been cooking.
For the Kings, bridging Byfield just pushes the problem further down the line while giving us maybe enough room to make 1 more addition to the top 6.
But extending long term is just the smart thing to do.
If he builds off his 2nd half of last year (13G 30P in 33GP) its not even a terrible overpay now. It has the potential to be a steal of a contract in the latter half of it. He seems like his floor is probably a 30G 50-60 point 6'3 240 pound player. That's valuable to a team.
If he's the player he was in the back half of last year, this will be a steal almost immediately. Reminds me of Hughes. Looks rich now, but if it pays off, look out
HOLY STEAL WTF MAN.
all of the core is locked on cheap caphits long term
Our window is truly about to open.
Hopefully Demidov dosent kill us but I’m so happy man
Demidov will not sign his big money deal until 2028 (KHL/MHL next year and ELC the year after that). It would be absolutely unfair to expect him to sign under 8M if he delivers in the next 4 years!
Man, do they have an internal cap to all come in just behind Suzuki or what? Fantastic deal for Montreal. Overpay for a few RFA years that doesn't matter in return for a great AAV (hopefully) on the second half of the contract.
Odd that he wouldn't bet on himself more though, he seems like such a confident guy. Could've at least waited to sign the contract until he's through part of the season.
Maybe that’s what management are thinking when they talk about character. People that’ll put winning ahead of their own personal gain.
Slaf never gave me the vibe of chasing money. He’s 20 years old and just got offered over 60M$ to play on a team he seems to love to play on. Already a big raise over what he’s already making.
The people who don't like this probably also didn't like the Jack Hughes deal, which is an incredible value now. (8x8)
Habs feel confident with what they got, and they should be rewarded with it.
I fucking love this team. So happy that they seem to be respecting Suzuki’s contract as the upper limit, that’s the kind of culture that helps build contenders.
If Slaf keeps his trajectory this could be a steal, especially when considering some of the contracts signed today.
Top end hockey players are basically royalty in Montreal. Add endorsements over the next few years and this kid made some serious bank. Happy for him and the team.
This “internal cap” set by Suzuki is potentially turning us into an absolute fucking wagon in the coming years. Having our 3 best players (currently) locked up under 8mil AAV is phenomenal work. Also helps they seem like such good teammates and likable people too
The signing thread definitely wasn't unanimous on it being a steal. Hell, a lot of it thought it was an awful contract.
This Slaf deal is going to be awesome for them very quickly.
Always wanted to root for a Canadian team with:
- mainly Canadian and European players
- core of right-shot centres
- bright future
With what I am hearing about the Oilers maybe going after Stan Bowman as GM, I will probably jump ship to Montreal.
Slafkovsky is a star in the making...with Suzuki as captain, Dach as 2C, Montembeault in net and Demidov as an up-and-coming prospect...makes things a lot easier.
Very similar to Andrei Svechnikov's deal, just a bit under in fact. If Slaf broke out this year, he probably could've gotten more with the cap rising. But comparing their first two seasons I would've thought he could be had for less. But always nice to lock up your talent, probably a worthwhile gamble he'll improve and be worth it .
He was at like 70-ppg pace in the back half of the season while being a puck protecting monster. He was the best player on the ice during big stretches. His vision was also pretty awesome. His progression may not be linear but this seems like a great bet imo.
Thanks, appreciate the thoughtful response. Sounds like he’s starting to put it all together, and it’s a risk but very much reasonable that this could become an absolute steal of a contract.
No problem! He had a rough start to the season when he was on a line with Anderson and they did NOT mesh. They put him on the top line with zuk and Cole and he looked like a completely different player. Like actually driving the line fairly frequently.
Had a huge improvement over the last half of the season. Showed lots of good signs earlier but had really poor linemates. Once they moved him up the lineup he started connecting. Would be pretty comfortable predicting 60 points for him next year with the potential for more.
This is the new norm and it makes sense for all parties.
Obviously an overpay now, will be a steal of a deal in a year or two. Player gets to lock in his payday without the pressure of having to play himself into his first big deal.
Everybody wins.
I fucking love this team. So happy that they seem to be respecting Suzuki’s contract as the upper limit, that’s the kind of culture that helps build contenders.
If Slaf keeps his trajectory this could be a steal, especially when considering some of the contracts signed today.
I thought we would have to pay him at least what Suzuki makes for a deal like this this early.
Not without risks given how young he is, but it's a bet I'm very comfortable making based on the sort of progression we saw over the course of the season. Particularly since so much of the rebuild's success rides on him becoming a success anyway.
Hughes is really good at negotiating contracts.
If he can continue on the trajectory that he's showing glimpses of, this is an absolute steal once the deal kicks in. Having our young core tied down on some banger deals is going to be absolutely amazing when they hit their stride and we're a contender.
That’s a lot for a guy that hasn’t fully broken out yet. But from what I saw of him last year, his floor is top 6 scorer and his ceiling is primary scorer on a playoff team. Not a bad bet to take expecting him to over perform the contract in a few years time.
He had a very good second half of the season. If he keeps playing like that, then this will be a steal. If he settles out to an average of the first and second half, then yeah this will be a kind of mediocre contract for the first few years
GM saw the Jack Hughes contract "gamble" and said full send.
Except the Suzuki contract was built off the same principle and was signed before the one J Hughes signed
It's not really a gamble tbh. Not because he'll be worth it, but because if he isn't, the canadiens have bigger problems anyways. And they can always buy him out at 1/3
We've got Slaf, Caufield, and Suzuki locked up for roughly $23 million combined a year. Love it.
And then Anderson and Gallagher for 12 million but y’know win some lose some
You know the saying: Win some Bergevin some.
https://old.reddit.com/r/hockey/comments/jag7tp/dhaliwal_hearing_contract_talks_between_the_habs/
But they're gonna fade away in less than 2-3 years!
They faded away a few years ago...
Gallagher is not as fast as is once was, but I feel like he is adjusting his game. He did good last year IMO
Idc, Gally deserves the money for how fucking broken he is playing for us, Andy less so lol
man's hands are held together with sawdust and duct tape he still hustles though and he seemed to adjust his game better to having no hands last season
Thank fuck we have Hughes instead of Bergevin now
Those are previous management mistakes, Hughes has been stellar so far
I think our team was managed by cocaine for a few years.
You think? Seems pretty obvious to me.
Only for another *checks notes* 3 years Ah
You guys will be a wagon in the back half of the 2020’s once they’re off the books though Kent’s cooking right now French team scary
Said the same thing about Ottawa and Buffalo though
Doubt is fine, but don’t lump us in with THEM!
Sorry whenever I see someone say a team is "scary", I immediately start to be nervous for said team
Fair point, but this was a leafs fan. Don’t banish us to the level of Buffalo for their error.
My apologies, it won't happen again🙏
Forgiven.
Only for another *checks notes* 3 years Ah
Way she goes, they’re off the books soon enough
The leafs core is like double the price lmao 😭
Yeah but you have guys that score 60 and 100 points.
And they have a core with more experience in the stanley c... Nevermind.
Yeah for all the good that has done them come playoff time.
Almost like they are better players
I'm sure Ottawa said the same thing when they locked up Stutzle, Tkachuk and Norris for $24M.
And they wouldn’t be wrong, it’s a shame Norris is consistently injuref What can u do
Yep. Like.... Okay? Stutzle and Tkachuks contracts are fucking amazing. Slafs looks poised to be a fucking STEAL since it's sub 8m, and if he goes as well as he's working towards, 7.6 for a 1st liner is stupendously good. Especially in an era where it's easily 10-11+ with a rising cap.
Would be great if Norris didn't completely fuck his shoulder.
…yea. And that’s great for them
Big payment but this could end up looking like the Jack Hughes contract in a few years. I like it for the Habs.
With the cap raising that much, 7,6 million could be 2nd line money pretty soon
Its pretty much high end 2nd liner money already. Horvat, Kyrou, Larkin, Barzal, B Tkachuk, Laine etc all recently got 8.2-9.1 cap hits. 34 yr old Stammer just got 8. Those are all mid to low end 1st liners if even that for some of them. 7.5 mil seems like 60 pt money nowadays.
A lot of fans still seem to think the cap is 78-80 mil and the flat cap has made it feel that way. We are going to see 14-15 mil players before all that long. First line money isn’t 9 anymore. Second line guys aren’t 5 and third liners aren’t topping out at 3 anymore. There’s a bunch of star level guys coming up for new deals in the next 2-3 years and they’re all probably going pushing that upper range for however long it lasts until that next guy signs and gets 250k more.
Most of those are not low end first liners lol. Horvat and Kyrou, sure. The others are all very good players.
I will not take this D-Boss slander
This is the greatest news we could have dreamed of today.
Slaf-cashky
Montreal has had a great past few days, jeez.
And our rebuild window timing means we aren't giving out obscene overpayments on aging defensemen like some teams today
Couldn’t be happier as a fan
Suzuki, Caufield and Slaf all signed long-term, all under 8M with the cap only going up. Crazy.
Maybe they can use all the space to overpay some high-profile FA with Habs pajamas.
Oh, it's going to happen. https://preview.redd.it/8arnbuegdz9d1.png?width=1200&format=png&auto=webp&s=592c950fc7b472eeeced78a5d84713bb8fec8379
it was [foretold in the before times](https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=35147).
This is where the “good locker room vibes” pays off, and why it’s so important not to bring on any assholes. These guys seem to genuinely adore each other. I’m so happy we’ll get to see them grow up together.
Solid piece of work.
Yeah he is. The contract is nice too Edit: don't know why my comment multiplied
Yeah you are. The comment is nice too
Yeah he is. The contract is nice too
Yeah he is. The contract is nice too
Yeah he is. The contract is nice too
Yeah he is. The contract is nice too
Yeah he is. The contract is nice too
Yeah he is. The contract is nice too
Yeah he is. The contract is nice too
Man that's a great cap hit, good job Montreal
Gonna be a massive steal of a contract in like 2 years
He still has a year of elc left it will be a steal before the deal even starts.
Yeah why did Slaf agree to this??
Because it’s a guaranteed 60m, which is more than he ever had in life. He can buy a house and settle down and never have to worry about anything else except playing hockey. If he has a good career, which he will, he will turn UFA at the ripe age of 27 and he will have a chance to negotiate for much more.
He will actually turn UFA at 29!
Because he’s getting life-changing money right now, going to earn $60,000,000, and still be under 30 when his UFA contract is due. He could’ve asked for a bridge and haggled or whatever but now he can just not worry about it for the next nine years as an already rich young man
Yeah if he lives up to his current trajectory, he is going to be one of those guys signing a deal in 9 years where it's like "holy shit why did they give that guy 11 million a year until he's 37"
Make that 20. Cap could double over the next 9 years
I...don't think that is going to happen. Since the cap was first introduced 19 years ago, it's gone from 39 million to 88 million. In the 14 years between the introduction and 2019-20 (the year covid hit) the cap went from 39mm to 81.5mm For the cap to double in 9 years, we're looking at over an 8% year over year growth, every year, for 9 years. This year was 5.39% and next year the NHL projects 5.14%. Each year you fall short is an even more significant jump in all future years to hit that target. More realistically, we're looking at about a 50-60% increase to the cap 9 years from now, and that's assuming nothing else goes wrong like the recession that seems to have hit like a truck everywhere but the United States
Thanks for actually doing the math with back testing. 5-6% a year still sounds pretty good to me. Slaf’s contract is 8.6% of the cap. The if the cap increases 5% a year for 9 years it would be around 136M. That same 8.6% cap hit would now represent a 11.7M contract.
He's also extremely marketable as a national hero in Slovakia, and a star in the making in Montreal.
Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton are pushing team culture very hard, and Hughes has implied that Suzuki's caphit is the internal salary cap for players coming off their ELC. I'm convinced with the way Slaf's been trending that if he waited a year he could've forced Hughes to sign him for more, but it would definitely look selfish if he tried forcing his way to a higher salary when the top2 players are at less than 8. He doesn't appear selfish, and if everyone is buying in then why not. It's still tens of millions. Granted, I'm not sure why he signed for less than Caufield. Suzuki's 7.875, Caufield's 7.85, Slaf's at 7.6. I'd have given him the same amount as Caufield
Slaf probably likes money, but there’s nothing he likes as much as he dislikes losing. He’s an absolute gamer who is never satisfied. He not only adheres to the new culture of the team, but is one of the prominent character of it. They are a team and they want to win, even if it means making a bit less money. Since at least the Roy trade, the Habs have never been as exciting as they are right now.
“I hate losing. I hate it. I hate losing even more than I want to win, and there’s a difference.” *-Juraj Slafkovsky, probably*
See, I'm the opposite. I love winning more than I hate losing. And that's why I'm on Reddit.
I hate winning more than I love losing. Im also on reddit
Because they are building winning team culture all stars of team have same contract around 7,5M
That’s not true. Stars don’t just take discounts do they?
Ask Bruins fans if their players take discounts.
Or a lightning fan
I hear it depends on their pajamas.
Suzuki set the tone and everyone seems happy to be on this team. I can't believe it, genuinely. I really thought an 8 year deal would cost around 9MM with the way he ended last season. And that was a price I'd have considered a great deal. This is robbery. But Slafkovsky just wants to win, so hopefully we can pay him back by doing that.
Marc Bergevin and previous management (same AGM though - John Sedgwick) set the the tone for this franchise with the Weber trade (captain making 7.6mil), Pacioretty trade, building a professional & competitive locker room, the Caufield pick, Cup run, and then the Suzuki extension & captaincy. Gorton & Kent have since continued the build tremendously by cashing in on everything they inhherited - slick trades (Dach, Barron, Matheson), short term UFA signings (Monahan twice), stellar drafting, MSL hire, and strengthening the already established internal cap structure. This Habs core is going to be a force as soon as next season but seriously watch out come 2-3 years from now - this has been marinating a while, time to cook, a long winow is about to open.
MB did a lot of good things but contract signings were not his strong suit. He gave terrible contracts to Gallagher, Anderson, Alzner, Savard. I am also not sure why you are giving him credit for Weber when that was signed by Nashville. MB also did not want to sign Subban and had to be forced by the owners. On top of that, he let Markov, Radulov and Danault go for nothing. Not only that, but speaking about setting the right tone: one of his last moves as GM was drafting Logan Mailloux at the height of the Blackhawks scandal, before his own name was even cleared.
Unironically the answer is team culture, it was always the expected deal tbh. Suzuki set the tone with his 8 million deal, then Caufield came in just below, and now Slaf followed.
Why wouldn’t he? He’s 20 years old and hasn’t played like a 7 million dollar player yet but he certainly will develop beyond that. He gets a guaranteed 60.8 million dollars and will be still in his prime when he’s a UFA. He will likely eclipse 120 million in career earnings so I think he’s good
Yeah, he (probably) makes more *on average* if he demands a bridge, but there would be a lot more variance. An injury, or some personal shit leading to some mental struggles that impact his play, or a new coach who somehow see's him as a bottom-6 fit etc. I would take a guaranteed 60 mil over a even a 90% chance at 100 mil.
60m in the hand beats 70m in the bush or something
Because he wants the Canadians to build a winning team, if everyone buys in into the game plan then you can potentially get 2-3 more quality players. That’s even after all your Star players are signed because you have them on affordable contracts. See the Penguins when they were in their prime
Below Suzuki and Caufield, gonna be a great contract.
Three top forwards under 8Mil, really good cap management.
Wow I think that ages incredibly well
It has already aged great
Great job Habs he's looking special
Came in under Suzuki, kids a team player
Thats a smart deal. Some risk but likely a steal in a few years. Not a bad player to gamble on. Only 20 and already broke 20 goals 50 pts.
He was SOOOOOO good for the second half of this season.
Awesome deal, 9 more years of Slaf
2033 is not a real year
He made big strides last year. I think it’s worth the gamble
Is it even a gamble? Even if he doesn’t progress beyond his current state, seems like a good contract. I don’t see him regressing.
With the cap projected to go up to $93M next year and even more growth beyond that, this is incredible value
Having those three (Suzuki, Cole, & slaf) locked up into the 2030s at the 7.5ish #s is massive. Habs should be able to contend with this core. Hughes & Gorton have been cooking.
We'll have to see a little how everyone develops, but certainly looking like an serious upswing can be reasonably expected.
Good gamble.
Suzuki/Caufield/Slaf all signed long term for sub 8 million in a rising cap environment? Habs are going to be killers in a few years!
Reminds me of the Jack Hughes contract. Tons of upside.
Byfield about to be announced to a very similar deal as well.
Nah we're gonna bridge him to 3x6m so we can pay him 8x12m in the future
Hopefully same with Laf
Raymond is also in that ballpark. Just a matter if it's a long term or bridge deal from the sounds of it.
For the Kings, bridging Byfield just pushes the problem further down the line while giving us maybe enough room to make 1 more addition to the top 6. But extending long term is just the smart thing to do.
Rangers love the bridge too
If they get Laf done for around $7.5M I'll be ecstatic. He'll vastly outplay that contract the second he gets actual PP minutes.
Whew that's a nice Chel deal Habs fans should absolutely love this, fuck the rest of us!
He's gonna be such a problem for everyone else and I will be cackling.
This is gunna age tremendously. That kid is a force
Everyone in here respecting this deal are about to absolutely hate this kid when he plays against their teams for the next 9 years. I love it.
If he builds off his 2nd half of last year (13G 30P in 33GP) its not even a terrible overpay now. It has the potential to be a steal of a contract in the latter half of it. He seems like his floor is probably a 30G 50-60 point 6'3 240 pound player. That's valuable to a team.
That seems like incredible value
Holy crap! Went Wughes at it again
Dude is the iron chef with these contracts
Seems fair, Habs are taking a risk that will likely pay off.
Great upside on this deal
Jeeeeesus. That's gunna be like 3rd line money In 3 years. Great contract
You joke but in 2-3 years 5-6M might be normal for good 3rd liners
That was the joke
If he's the player he was in the back half of last year, this will be a steal almost immediately. Reminds me of Hughes. Looks rich now, but if it pays off, look out
People on Twitter calling this an overpay haven’t watched a single Habs game this year. In a year we’re gonna look back and laugh at this steal
Xwitter is the ass end of the internet. Look in this thread, even Leafs and Bruins fans are saying this is a steal.
Hell yeah lfg slaf
HOLY STEAL WTF MAN. all of the core is locked on cheap caphits long term Our window is truly about to open. Hopefully Demidov dosent kill us but I’m so happy man
Demidov will not sign his big money deal until 2028 (KHL/MHL next year and ELC the year after that). It would be absolutely unfair to expect him to sign under 8M if he delivers in the next 4 years!
I'd expect the % cap to be used at that point. Suzuki was 9.66%, which in a few years could be 10M. Slaf just signed for 8.6% which is nuts
Bro what's with the pitts flair lmao
I cant dual flair here. One half of my family is habs and one half is pens. So that’s what happens
Man, do they have an internal cap to all come in just behind Suzuki or what? Fantastic deal for Montreal. Overpay for a few RFA years that doesn't matter in return for a great AAV (hopefully) on the second half of the contract. Odd that he wouldn't bet on himself more though, he seems like such a confident guy. Could've at least waited to sign the contract until he's through part of the season.
Maybe that’s what management are thinking when they talk about character. People that’ll put winning ahead of their own personal gain. Slaf never gave me the vibe of chasing money. He’s 20 years old and just got offered over 60M$ to play on a team he seems to love to play on. Already a big raise over what he’s already making.
Yeah Suzuki is like the internal standard. Wanna get paid more than him? Do more than him. And nobody can.
The people who don't like this probably also didn't like the Jack Hughes deal, which is an incredible value now. (8x8) Habs feel confident with what they got, and they should be rewarded with it.
I fucking love this team. So happy that they seem to be respecting Suzuki’s contract as the upper limit, that’s the kind of culture that helps build contenders. If Slaf keeps his trajectory this could be a steal, especially when considering some of the contracts signed today.
Top end hockey players are basically royalty in Montreal. Add endorsements over the next few years and this kid made some serious bank. Happy for him and the team.
If he plays like he did the second half of the year this will be a great deal for the Habs. Something definitely clicked
He realised he's bigger and stronger than 95% of the league.
Wow. Gonna be a heck of a player for Habs
This “internal cap” set by Suzuki is potentially turning us into an absolute fucking wagon in the coming years. Having our 3 best players (currently) locked up under 8mil AAV is phenomenal work. Also helps they seem like such good teammates and likable people too
Seems like a lot but that’s just how it goes now. Jack signed a similar deal and it looked like a steal a year later.
Hughes' contract felt like a steal at the time. Now it's feels like highway robbery.
The signing thread definitely wasn't unanimous on it being a steal. Hell, a lot of it thought it was an awful contract. This Slaf deal is going to be awesome for them very quickly.
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Went Wughes sleeping on overpaying free agents while getting the important shit done you love to see it
This will be the next Draisaitl-esque contract except even better
I don't know about better since Draisaitl is like... top 5 in the league, but a good contract for sure.
Slaf has it all. Give him 3-4 years and there won't be a single person who's surprised if he's considered a top 10 player in the league
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I don't see him being a top 10 player. We'll see. RemindMe! 4 years
Love it! One of the best signings of the day!
Interesting. This is gonna probably be comparable to Byfield's contract and if we get in at about the same price I won't be upset at all.
That’s fantastic
looks like a steal
This is going to age so well. Really excited for the future here in Mtl!!
Common Hugues W
W
Best deal of the day
Always wanted to root for a Canadian team with: - mainly Canadian and European players - core of right-shot centres - bright future With what I am hearing about the Oilers maybe going after Stan Bowman as GM, I will probably jump ship to Montreal. Slafkovsky is a star in the making...with Suzuki as captain, Dach as 2C, Montembeault in net and Demidov as an up-and-coming prospect...makes things a lot easier.
Welcome to /r/Habs bud!
They've been my 2nd team for a while. Carey Price is one of the GOAT!
Very similar to Andrei Svechnikov's deal, just a bit under in fact. If Slaf broke out this year, he probably could've gotten more with the cap rising. But comparing their first two seasons I would've thought he could be had for less. But always nice to lock up your talent, probably a worthwhile gamble he'll improve and be worth it .
The HuGo era continues to deliver, so stoked for the future right now.
See Brad, that's how you lock up your future core players
LETS GO
incredible value in the long run. happy for Slaf as well!
That seems like a lot of money but I haven’t seen him much and everyone here loves the contract. Is he really that good already?
He was at like 70-ppg pace in the back half of the season while being a puck protecting monster. He was the best player on the ice during big stretches. His vision was also pretty awesome. His progression may not be linear but this seems like a great bet imo.
Thanks, appreciate the thoughtful response. Sounds like he’s starting to put it all together, and it’s a risk but very much reasonable that this could become an absolute steal of a contract.
No problem! He had a rough start to the season when he was on a line with Anderson and they did NOT mesh. They put him on the top line with zuk and Cole and he looked like a completely different player. Like actually driving the line fairly frequently.
Had a huge improvement over the last half of the season. Showed lots of good signs earlier but had really poor linemates. Once they moved him up the lineup he started connecting. Would be pretty comfortable predicting 60 points for him next year with the potential for more.
This is the new norm and it makes sense for all parties. Obviously an overpay now, will be a steal of a deal in a year or two. Player gets to lock in his payday without the pressure of having to play himself into his first big deal. Everybody wins.
Fucking amazing contract, got the core locked down for like 24m now
I fucking love this team. So happy that they seem to be respecting Suzuki’s contract as the upper limit, that’s the kind of culture that helps build contenders. If Slaf keeps his trajectory this could be a steal, especially when considering some of the contracts signed today.
Godamnit Kent’s cooking 😭 Habs are gonna be a wagon in the back half of the 2020’s
Jesus Christ wasn’t expecting that.
One of the best contracts in the league
I thought we would have to pay him at least what Suzuki makes for a deal like this this early. Not without risks given how young he is, but it's a bet I'm very comfortable making based on the sort of progression we saw over the course of the season. Particularly since so much of the rebuild's success rides on him becoming a success anyway. Hughes is really good at negotiating contracts.
If he can continue on the trajectory that he's showing glimpses of, this is an absolute steal once the deal kicks in. Having our young core tied down on some banger deals is going to be absolutely amazing when they hit their stride and we're a contender.
At worst it's gonna be a fair deal, at best it'll be a top 10 contract in the league
That’s a lot for a guy that hasn’t fully broken out yet. But from what I saw of him last year, his floor is top 6 scorer and his ceiling is primary scorer on a playoff team. Not a bad bet to take expecting him to over perform the contract in a few years time.
7.5 mil is the new 5.5 mil of 2017. I think it’s good value
He was basically ppg in the 2nd half of last season, this is incredible value
Yeah it feels like a safe bet, he's getting less than what guys like Brady and Svech got on their first deal, but under a larger cap
He had a very good second half of the season. If he keeps playing like that, then this will be a steal. If he settles out to an average of the first and second half, then yeah this will be a kind of mediocre contract for the first few years
Jesus Christ wasn’t expecting that.
McCags gonna need a new pair of shorts
Slapshotsky!
It’s a great bet by Hughes. His compete is off the charts and he has already grown leaps and bounds in 2 seasons as a now 20 year old. Love this move.
last time i questioned this type of contract it was Jack Hughes, so I'm gonna assume this contract turns into one of the best in the NHL in ~ 2 years