Habs select Slafkovsky with top pick
The Montreal Canadiens selected Juraj Slafkovsky with the No. 1 pick at the 2022 NHL draft Thursday.
The 18-year-old Slovakian climbed on stage with a big grin after having his name called in front of family, friends and fans at the Bell Centre.
The winger and top-ranked North American skater by NHL Central Scouting starred for his country at both the Beijing Olympics and world championships.
Slafkovsky led the Olympic tour- nament with seven goals in seven games..
Montreal was the first team to both host the draft and pick first since the Toronto Maple Leafs selected Wendel Clark at No. 1 in 1985.
The Canadiens had the top pick for the first time since 1980 when they took Doug Wickenheiser.
New Jersey Devils had the second pick and went with defenceman Simon Nemec.
League business got going earlier in the day when the Colorado Avalanche acquired goaltender Alexandar Georgiev from the New York Rangers for three draft picks.
The Pittsburgh Penguins, meanwhile, announced a six-year, US$36.6-million contact extension with star defenceman Kris Letang.
The Ottawa Senators then made the biggest trade splash of the week by acquiring winger Alex DeBrincat from the Chicago Blackhawks for three draft picks, including this year’s seventh selection.
The Cup-winning Colorado Avalanche gave up thirdand fifth-round picks this year and a third-rounder next year for Georgiev. The move seems to spell the end of playoff starting goalie Darcy Kuemper’s time with the Avalanche.
The Avalanche can now pair Georgiev, who needs a new contract as a restricted free agent, with Pavel Francouz as they try to defend their third title in franchise history.
Pittsburgh may not be able to keep the entire band together, given centre Evgeni Malkin is also set to be an unrestricted free agent, but general manager Ron Hextall prioritized locking up Letang long term.
“The role he plays on our team is irreplaceable, he is a leader in our locker room and has made countless contributions to the organization over the last 15-plus years,” Hextall said in a statement.
Letang, 36, helped Pittsburgh win the Cup in 2009, 2016 and 2017, though he missed the final run because of injury.
DeBrincat posted 307 points (160 goals, 147 assists) in 368 career games with the Blackhawks. The forward added six points in nine post-season contests.
“Someone who’s a consistent goal scorer, someone whose age fits in with a lot of our core, someone that is a competitor, someone who has a proven track record,” Senators GM Pierre Dorion said. “We were looking for someone who could play in our top-6 (forward group).
“He’s playing in our top-6.”
DeBrincat, who’s entering the final season of a threeyear, US$19.2-million contract, is set to become a restricted free agent next summer.
“We can we can control him for two years,” Dorion said of the two-time 40-goal scorer. “We would like to extend him at some point in time, but sometimes you gotta make sure the fit is all right.
“He was pretty excited. He knows we’ve got a really good young group of players.”
The Blackhawks, meanwhile, started a long-anticipated dismantling of their roster and gained payroll flexibility.
“It was an incredibly difficult decision to trade a player of Alex’s calibre,” GM Kyle Davidson said in a statement. “We feel as if this move sets the Blackhawks up for future success by giving us additional flexibility and future talent.”
The trade comes with the Blackhawks having reached a crossroad in their franchise’s direction. Chicago has missed the playoffs in four of the past five seasons, and hasn’t won a post-season round since 2015 when the team won its third Stanley Cup in six years.
The DeBrincat deal will also create more questions for longtime Blackhawks stars Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane.
DeBrincat put up big numbers with the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters in junior, but the fivefoot-seven American slipped in the 2016 draft because of his height.
He’s put those concerns to rest and now heads to the nation’s capital.