After the Canadiens were eliminated, Juraj Slafkovsky declined the invitation to join Slovakia’s team at the recent World Hockey Championships.
His decision caused a bit of a stir in Montreal, but it was mainly in his native country that it really got people talking.
BIENVENUE EN SÉRIES, JURAJ SLAFKOVSKY
LIVE SLAF LOVE#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/H8Fa7ftJsB— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) April 26, 2025
The problem is that Slaf didn’t explain why he refused to join the Slovak team.
It’s possible that he simply wanted to rest and heal an injury, as his team-mate Emil Heineman seemed to say during the championship.
On the other hand, it’s also possible that the forward simply decided to stay away from his homeland, having criticized the toxic coverage of the Slovak media and the national hockey federation.
Questioned on the subject in an interview published on sportweb.pravda.sk, his compatriot Tomas Jurco, who plays in the KHL, considers criticism of Slafkovsky for his absence from the World Championship to be unjustified, not least because people are unaware of his physical and mental state.
And that’s understandable, as few hockey fans in Slovakia must have the opportunity to follow the player’s exploits on a daily basis, and probably haven’t seen how taxing his end-of-season and playoffs have been for him.
Still according to Jurco, Slaf’s absence means nothing and he should eventually play with the national team if his health permits.
An interesting point: how much pressure should be put on players for a competition like the World Championship?
Timing dictates that this tournament starts after the first round of the playoffs, a period when many players are nursing injuries and are exhausted, both physically and mentally.
Personally, I’d rather see Slafkovsky, Nick Suzuki or Cole Caufield get some rest and arrive 100% ready to help the Canadiens next season.
Should we think about changing the date of the MHC?
Maybe something more summery like July, a month sorely lacking in hockey and with more rested players who could use the competition to stretch their legs.
