Much ink has been spilled over Montreal Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky and his perceived slow start to the season.

Opinions vary, yet Slafkovsky himself has admitted he is not satisfied with the opening stretch of the year, which has produced two goals and 10 assists in 18 games. While some observers have said he looks off, Slafkovsky went further, suggesting he has been “playing like s***.”

Watching him, I would argue he often appears hesitant and executes at a noticeably slower pace, which has led to an unfortunate number of giveaways. His puck control also looks questionable, both in protection and receptions.

But here is the thing about watching hockey games: our eyes tend to lie. Or rather, our memory is limited and relies on shortcuts to process information. This is known as the availability heuristic, the tendency to judge a situation by the most memorable examples that come to mind, simply because the mind cannot absorb the thousands of data points generated in every game. It is far easier to recall a blatant giveaway than a clean zone exit or a smart neutral-zone pass.

To gain a clearer picture, we need to turn to the numbers. We will compare Slafkovsky’s statistics with last year’s figures at both 5v5 and on the power play. Once we have the data in hand, we can confirm or bust the notion that he is struggling to start the season.

Slafkovsky Giveaways

His giveaways have climbed from 3.5/60 at 5v5 to 4.5/60, an increase of almost 30%. The same trend is evident on the power play, where the rate has risen from 2.66/60 to 3.88/60, an increase of more than 45%.

We can therefore conclude that Slafkovsky is turning the puck over far more frequently this season, in all situations.

Production (5v5)

Clearly, Slafkovsky is scoring fewer goals at 5v5, with his goals/60 rate suffering a considerable downtick. He is actually producing more primary assists than last season, and while his points/60 have dropped, the decline has not reached a level that should cause panic, 1.76 pts/60 remains more than respectable.

At the risk of oversimplifying, a look at his shooting numbers makes the reason for the lower goal output relatively clear. His shooting % has been halved, while the rest of his shooting metrics have declined only slightly.

Slafkovsky On The Powerplay

Seeing as 5v5 is not the biggest drag on his game, the next logical step is to examine his powerplay statistics.

Slafkovsky ranked among the top powerplay producers last season, scoring 15 goals, by far the highest total among Canadiens forwards. He has yet to score a single man-advantage goal this year, and that stands out as the clearest red flag in his play.

Not only has he stopped scoring goals, but his primary assists have also dropped while his secondary assists have risen significantly. The net result is a 37% decline in powerplay production.

His shooting numbers on the powerplay reveal an interesting shift as well. Believe it or not, Slafkovsky is taking more shots per 60 this season, yet he is generating far fewer individual high-danger scoring chances. At the same time, he is creating more rebounds.

This points to two possible conclusions. First, he is running into tough shooting luck after enjoying a highly fortunate season in the same situation a year ago. It also suggests he may be shooting from farther out, as shown by the drop in quality chances and the rise in rebounds.

It should also be noted that over 40% of his shots on the powerplay have missed the net, indicating a possible lack of accuracy.

Additional Factors

I do not particularly enjoy using NHL Edge because it does not filter 5v5 results, yet it still offers some very interesting data.

One of the first numbers that stands out is that Slafkovsky’s average skating speed has actually increased, contrary to popular belief. His average last season sat at roughly 87 km/h, while this year it has climbed to 97 km/h.

This dispels the idea that he is “lazy,” as some have claimed on social media. Of course, the higher speed does not automatically mean greater effectiveness, but he is skating significantly faster than he did in 2025-26, while covering slightly more distance per game.

Given that Slafkovsky’s powerplay production has dried up, the next step is to examine the game footage.

For the most part, Slafkovsky’s powerplay goals last season came from two spots: directly in the slot or at the hashmarks via a one-timer.

However, the first powerplay unit has changed this year. Zachary Bolduc has often taken over the role Slafkovsky filled last season, with most of his usage coming on the right-side half-wall near the hashmarks. This has effectively neutered Slafkovsky’s one-timer.

There is an obvious correlation at work, as Bolduc now leads the team in powerplay goals, rather than Slafkovsky.

Powerplays remain fluid, and Slafkovsky still finds himself in the slot or half wall at times, but there is no doubt he now faces internal competition on the man-advantage. Bolduc’s average powerplay usage has risen from 1:35 per night to more than two minutes this season.

Montreal Canadiens Brass Tacks

Statistically speaking, Slafkovsky was a little harsh when evaluating his own play, but there is no doubt he is not performing remotely as well as we know he can.

He is not playing terribly, yet most expect linear progression from young players. The reality of professional sports allows for regression, especially when a high shooting percentage is involved. Few players manage to emulate Nick Suzuki’s endless year-over-year improvements.

The bulk of the downtick has occurred on the power play, where the system exerts the greatest influence on production. Slafkovsky’s 5v5 production remains solid for the most part, though he must focus on mitigating giveaways. He has also traditionally been a slow starter, which means we will need to revisit his numbers as the season continues to unfold.

Additionally, after Suzuki (18), Cole Caufield (14), and Lane Hutson (9), injured forward Ivan Demidov assisted on the most goals scored by Slafkovsky last year (7). Demidov’s absence has certainly hurt the young Slovak’s production.

All Montreal Canadiens statistics are via Natural Stat Trick and NHL Edge. Footage via Youtube.