Juraj Slafkovsky grew up idolzing Patrik Laine.
So the Montreal Canadiens forward can barely contain his excitement now that the two are teammates.
“I just landed in Prague and it popped up on my phone and I was so happy,” Slafkovsky said from the NHL European Media Tour in the Czech capital, according to NHL.com. “In 2016, I was probably 13 or 14 at that time, and I was a big fan of his, waiting to see whether he or [Toronto Maple Leafs centre Auston] Matthews would go first (in the NHL Draft), so I was a fan of his back in the day.”
The Canadiens acquired Laine on Monday in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The three-time 30-goal scorer joins an emerging core of talented forwards that includes Slafkovsky, Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Kirby Dach.
Laine is coming off a down season in which he played in only 18 games due to a shoulder injury and time spent in the NHL/NHLPA players assistance program. Slafkovsky said he hopes a change of scenery can help Laine return to the goal-scoring threat he was earlier in his career.
“It’s good to see him join our team and hopefully he’s excited too,” Slafkovsky said. “I’m sure he wants to come and restart his career, and I feel like Montreal is a great place for him to do that.”
The upcoming season promises to be a big one for Slafkovsky after he took a big step offensively last year. The first-overall pick in 2022, Slafkovsky set career highs in goals (20), assists (30) and points (50) while appearing in all 82 games for the Canadiens.
The Canadiens awarded his leap in production with an eight-year, $60.8-million contract extension that begins in 2025-26.
With all the activity around him, Slafkovsky says he can’t wait to get the season started.
“I’m excited about the season, especially with the Patrik Laine trade,” Slafkovsky said. “I wish we would could skip training camp and just start the season, because I’m excited to play games that mean something.”