Montreal Canadiens Star Makes Best NHL Players List

Montreal Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky has landed some big-time praise.

Slafkovsky was among the players listed in Adam Proteau's top 80 NHL player rankings for The Hockey News' main site. 

Proteau gave Slafkovsky the No. 56 spot in his top 80 players ranking.

"Slafkovsky’s star is still rising, and Montreal fans and Habs management are thrilled with his development. He’ll be a very talented player for the foreseeable future, and the Canadiens will benefit as Slafkovsky proves he’s an elite contributor," Proteau wrote.

When noting that Slafkovsky had a breakout year for the Canadiens last season, it makes sense that he made Proteau's list. The 22-year-old has proven that he can be a high-impact top-six winger, and he will now be looking to take another step forward in his development in 2026-27. 

In 82 games this past season with the Canadiens, Slafkovsky set new career highs with 30 goals, 43 assists, and 73 points. With numbers like these, he has become a very important part of the Canadiens' forward group. It will now be interesting to see what he can do for an encore with Montreal in 2026-27 from here.