{"id":856175,"date":"2026-08-15T13:10:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T13:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/856175\/"},"modified":"2026-08-15T13:10:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T13:10:10","slug":"canadiens-juraj-slafkovsky-says-stanley-cup-rings-are-priority-not-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/856175\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadiens’ Juraj Slafkovsky says Stanley Cup rings are priority, not money"},"content":{"rendered":"

Juraj Slafkovsky says money is no longer the priority for Montreal Canadiens<\/a> players chasing their first Stanley Cup together.<\/p>\n

The Canadiens have built a young core (youngest team in the NHL<\/a>) around Slafkovsky ($7.6 million AAV), Nick Suzuki<\/a> ($7.875 million), Cole Caufield ($7.85 million), Lane Hutson ($8.85 million) and Ivan Demidov ($9.15 million). Several players have accepted long-term deals that preserve flexibility around the roster.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, players around the NHL are signing contracts that exceed $15 million annually in 2026.<\/p>\n

MORE: Canadiens legend Carey Price shares honest take on Montreal\u2019s young goalie duo<\/a><\/p>\n

Speaking in Russian about Montreal\u2019s contract approach, Slafkovsky said the team\u2019s shared ambition matters more than individual earnings.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not really about the money for anyone there (in Montreal),\u201d Slafkovsky said. \u201cWe all have the same goal on that team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Slafkovsky acknowledged that the players already have enough financial security to focus elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody really cares about the money at this point,\u201d Slafkovsky said. \u201cI mean, all those contracts that the guys have, or even I personally have, it\u2019s already made our lives easier enough. Nobody really needs more than that.\u201d<\/p>\n

That mindset could matter as Montreal\u2019s young core enters its competitive window. The Canadiens reached the Eastern Conference Final last season, showing their rebuild has moved into a new phase.<\/p>\n

Slafkovsky believes the group has a clear target. He said, \u201cWe\u2019d rather just focus on collecting those rings. That\u2019s a much bigger number, and I don\u2019t think any amount of money can top that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Montreal Canadiens\u2019 structure gives the core a chance to compete<\/p>\n

\"NHL:Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens left wing Juraj Slafkovsky (20) looks on during the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect (Reuters)<\/p>\n

The Canadiens have benefited from securing key players during a time when the NHL\u2019s rising salary cap pushes contract values higher. That approach gives general manager Kent Hughes more room to build around the core.<\/p>\n

Slafkovsky\u2019s comments suggest players understand that dynamic. Individual contracts remain important, but roster depth can become a major advantage during a long playoff run.<\/p>\n

Montreal\u2019s recent progress supports that approach. Suzuki emerged as a major offensive leader, scoring 101 points, while Caufield provides finishing ability evident in his 51-goal season, and Hutson drives play from the blue line.<\/p>\n

Demidov also gives Montreal another young scoring option. Slafkovsky\u2019s own development adds size and power to a forward group built around several different skill sets.<\/p>\n

So, from a team-building perspective, shared financial expectations can help preserve depth. Stars taking reasonable deals allow management to spend on complementary players when injuries or playoff weaknesses appear.<\/p>\n

MORE: Mike Rupp sees 60-goal ceiling for Canadiens star Cole Caufield<\/a><\/p>\n

The Canadiens still need to prove they can finish the job. A conference final appearance raises expectations, but the next step requires winning four more games in the postseason.<\/p>\n

Slafkovsky\u2019s message is that Montreal\u2019s young core wants championships, not bigger individual contracts. That shared goal could become one of the team\u2019s biggest advantages.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Enjoy free coverage of the top news & trending stories with The Big Lead Newsletter\u00a0<\/a>\u2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Juraj Slafkovsky says money is no longer the priority for Montreal Canadiens players chasing their first Stanley Cup…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":856176,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[556],"tags":[64,63,229417,55997,5790,575,202857,85,4787],"class_list":["post-856175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cole-caufield","tag-lane-hutson","tag-montreal-canadiens","tag-nhl","tag-nick-suzuki","tag-sports","tag-stanley-cup"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=856175"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856175\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/856176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=856175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=856175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=856175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}