A fresh ranking has given the Canadiens another piece of validation, and it points straight back to Kent Hughes.
The latest list puts Juraj Slafkovsky fourth overall among the NHL’s best young talents, behind only Macklin Celebrini, Connor Bedard and Matthew Schaefer. That alone says plenty. But the real jolt comes when you stack his contract against the one signed by Anaheim’s Leo Carlsson.
Slafkovsky is locked in at $60.8 million over eight years, which breaks down to $7.6 million per year. Carlsson, who is ranked just behind him, got $90 million over five years, or $18 million annually. That gap is huge, and it makes Montreal’s deal look even better.
It also reinforces the value Hughes has already extracted up front. Slafkovsky is coming off a 30-goal, 73-point season, and the Canadiens have him secured at a number well below what the market is handing out to other top young forwards.
The ranking doesn’t stop there for Montreal. The Canadiens sit third overall with seven players on the list, a strong sign of how much young talent they’ve stacked in the system and on the roster.
Ivan Demidov checks in at No. 8, Lane Hutson is No.
11, Alexander Zharovsky is No. 55, Gleb Pugachyov is No.
56, David Reinbacher is No. 73 and Michael Hage is No. 93.
Taken together, it’s another strong snapshot of Hughes’ blueprint: a young core with key pieces already secured at team-friendly prices. For Canadiens fans, that’s about as good a setup as you can ask for if the goal is to stay in the mix for a long time.
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Canadiens Blue Line Suddenly Carries One Huge Burden This Season
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What makes this group so fascinating is how much is still being built around them. The veterans and prospects around the top pair will have roles to settle, and the organization needs more than promise from a few young defenders if it wants the unit to hold up over a full season. Hutsons stock is already obvious, while Dobsons first taste of Canadiens playoff hockey only added another layer to the evaluation, leaving Montreal with plenty to like and a few key questions still hanging over its back end. [Read more 🡒]