On Wednesday, on the first day of NHL free agency, Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes, the Habs, and Slafkovsky have agreed to terms on a three-year deal. The Slovak played 38 games for TPS Turku in Finland last year and finished with five goals and five assists.
He also represented Slovakia at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, where he scored seven goals in seven games helping his country win a bronze medal. A native of Kosice, he is the first ever Slovakian player to be drafted number one overall.
Hughes wasn’t done there as he signed three new free agents in Madison Bowey, Anthony Richard, and Mitchell Stephens. Bowey, who is a defenseman, played in Vancouver last year while also playing for their AHL team in Abbotsford.
Bowey played two games with the Canucks and 53 games in the American hockey league, where he finished with eight goals and 20 assists and had 80 penalty minutes. Montreal is the 5th team that Bowey has signed with after playing for the Washington Capitals, Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks, and Vancouver.
So far in his NHL career, he has played 158 games, and careerwise he has five goals and 35 assists, Richard who is 25 years old and played 71 games in the AHL with the Syracuse Crunch and Milwaukee Admirals.
This past season he finished with 17 goals and 21 assists and played two games in the NHL with the Nashville Predators.
Stephens, who spent last season with the Detroit Red Wings, played 27 games and finished with six assists and eight penalty minutes. A native of Peterborough, Ontario, he has played in 72 NHL games over his career with the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Red Wings.
He was drafted in the second round of the 2015 NHL Draft by the Lightning and was the 33rd overall pick in the draft.
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