Juraj Slafkovsky has always had the tools to be an impactful defensive player. He’s big, he’s strong, he’s athletic, and he’s constantly shown a desire to help his Canadiens in any way he can. But did I expect him to (seemingly overnight) skyrocket into one of the best defensive forwards in the league? Absolutely not. And I wouldn’t believe anyone who says they did.
Although his offensive game still leaves something to be desired, the impact he’s had on the other side of the puck has been incredible this season, and it’s backed by some pretty impressive statistics. Slafkovsky leads all Canadiens skaters this season in corsi against per sixty minutes (49.33) and expected goals against per sixty minutes (1.97) at five on five (Evolving Hockey), and according to naturalstattrick, he’s tied for first among Habs forwards with eighteen blocked shots.
It’s not hard to see Slafkovsky’s case as the most impactful defensive forward on the 2025 Canadiens, but things get even more impressive when you compare his numbers with the rest of the league. Among the 120 forwards who have played at least 300 minutes this season Slafkovsky ranks 13th in shots against per 60 minutes (22.55), 15th in corsi against per 60 minutes, and 5th in expected goals against per 60 minutes (Evolving Hockey). Evolving Hockey also has Slafkovsky valued in the 95th percentile in its defensive Goals Above Replacement model, while hockeystatcards.com has Slafkovsky ranked as the third best defensive forward in the league this season based on their game score model, with a +3 rating. It can be hard to evaluate a player’s defensive impact over a large sample of games, especially if you aren’t watching every minute. But these stats do their best to show how valuable Slafkovsky has been to the Habs defensive game this season, and it seems like he’s starting to get rewarded with some recognition from the coaching staff.
In the Canadiens 4-3 win over the Utah Mammoth this past Wednesday, Slafkovsky found himself in a fairly new and unique position, on the ice defending a one goal lead with the Mammoth net empty. Being trusted to defend a one goal lead against a good opponent is no small task, but it shows the growing trust between Slafkovsky and the Habs coaching staff that he can be counted on in those big moments. To me, that’s just as impressive as the strong numbers. For Slafkovsky to jump into such an important role, so quickly into the season, says a lot about his role within the club, and probably reflects the work he’s put in to improve that part of his game.
It would be wrong of me to talk about Slafkovsky’s defensive breakout and not mention the play of his two most common linemates, Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. Suzuki is a well known defensive star, but Caufield has also seen some drastic defensive improvements this year, and the three have combined to create one of the best two-way lines in hockey. I wanted to bring up the play of Suzuki and Caufield because it’s likely the three have had an effect on each other’s performances, especially for Caufield and Slafkovsky, who get the privilege of playing with one of the league’s premiere defensive centers. This isn’t to take anything away from the two wingers, who were both playing alongside Suzuki for the majority of last season as well, it’s to highlight that it’s probably much easier for offensive minded wingers to implement better defensive habits when playing with a center who carries a ton of defensive responsibility himself.
Will Slafkovsky actually win the Selke? Probably not. It’s hard enough for any winger to get serious recognition for the award, add to that the fact he’s just now emerging as an elite defender this season, and you don’t exactly get an award winning recipe. Nonetheless, Slafkovsky’s defensive excellence shouldn’t go unnoticed, it’s been one of the more interesting developments of the Canadiens season so far, and could be the key to taking his game to an elite level.
Ethan Alexander
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