Yesterday, the Montreal Canadiens’ VP of Hockey Operations joined The Sick Podcast – The Eye Test for an insightful interview, and it was nothing short of a treat. My colleagues Jimmy Murphy and Pierre McGuire delivered an exceptional conversation, posing thoughtful questions that prompted some compelling and revealing answers from Jeff Gorton. Here are just a few of the topics covered.
About Juraj Slafkovsky
When discussing Slafkovsky, Jeff Gorton emphasized the young forward’s self-awareness and commitment to improving his game. He highlighted how Slafkovsky’s identity as a player is rooted in his physicality, skating, and net-front presence, traits that are beginning to solidify as he matures. Here’s what Gorton had to say about the Canadiens’ promising 20-year-old:
“He [Slafkovsky] is probably is worst critic. You can see in games where he’s having success, it’s all related to skating and finishing hit and playing big, and everything else falls in line. Most of his goals are going to be from five feet in and he has to learn that, he’s 20 years old. We all want to be like Patrik Laine and score from 50-60-70 feet away from the net, but those guys are few and far between. When he plays to his identity, which is skating and driving the wing and chasing pucks and get in front of the net, he’s a hard guy to handle. He knows that and it’s starting to come along now.”
About Lane Hutson
Gorton’s praise for Hutson reflected both excitement and admiration for the dynamic young defenseman. He credited Martin St-Louis and Stephane Robidas for fostering an environment that encourages creativity while highlighting Hutson’s unique vision, defensive capabilities, and determination to excel. Here’s Gorton’s take on the player he calls a rare talent:
“Martin St-Louis and Stephane Robidas are giving him [Hutson] the freedom. I think it’s a perfect marriage for a guy like that to come and play for Marty, where he wants him to go out and learn on the job and he’s not putting the shackles on him in any way. The only thing they stress on him is the timing sometimes. Lane sees things differently than the world see it. We all love that he sees four of five guys in front of him and he still sees an opportunity for us to create something. Always, the questions were ‘can he play defense’ or ‘is he too small to play defense’ and the guy can play defense. That is something that he uses every day as motivation. It’s strange to watch him defend and be able to do it, it’s an amazing thing but when you have 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th effort, that’s what makes him even greater. He’s got all that offensive skill but he has that burning desire to be great at both ends and we’re seeing that now.”
Asked whom Hutson reminded him of, Gorton had two players in mind:
“I think definitely Quinn Hughes is probably the one in the NHL that comes to mind the most although they skate different. A lot of times his mannerism, I know it’s a different position, you can see that he studied Patrick Kane a lot. You can see the shoulder fakes, the head, how he pulls up and he sees everything. He’s looking one way and he’s going to do something completely different. He’s got the shimmy shake and all that stuff. I told Kent, you want to send him to Laval, you might as well go there with him!”
About the trade deadline
With the trade deadline on the horizon, Gorton discussed the team’s approach to balancing long-term goals with short-term opportunities. He made it clear that building a sustainable contender remains the priority, but they’re open to moves that could help the team’s progress in the right circumstances. Here’s what Gorton said about their deadline philosophy:
“We have a plan and we’re not going to deviate from trying to build a team trying to win for a while. We’re not going to trade young players that we feel are going to be part of that. Kent and I just spoke about it this morning, after a week of scouting meetings. If there’s an opportunity to help these guys, they deserved it, we’ll see what happens tonight [last night’s loss to Detroit] and leading up to the Four Nations break. If we can help them along, we’ll look for that.”
About Ivan Demidov
Gorton also touched on the development of Ivan Demidov, one of the Canadiens’ most exciting prospects. He shared his enthusiasm for the player’s performance since being drafted and noted the importance of his continued growth in meaningful games. Here’s what he had to say about Demidov’s progress:
“Since Kent went over there, he’s been hot as a pistol, so we might send him back over there. (laughs) Obviously very talented, we felt that at number five, it was an obvious selection for us to get a guy that kind of caliber. Since that day, nothing has ever changed. He’s an exciting player. I’m sure you guys have all seen some of the things he’s been doing. It’s all good there, he’s doing well, he’s playing a lot. Our market is very excited about this player so we’ll see what’s next. He’s got another 20 games there this season and hopefully they go on a long run in the playoffs and those kinds of experiences come his way too.”
According to Pierre McGuire, Demidov cannot come to the NHL to help the Habs in the playoffs this season, but he can go help Laval if they are still in the AHL playoffs when his KHL contract ends.
Follow all of our podcast, including the following Habs’ hockey ones:
- The Sick Podcast – The Eye Test with Jimmy Murphy and Pierre McGuire
- The Sick Podcast – Raw Knuckles with Chris Nilan
- The Sick Podcast – with Tony Marinaro
- The Sick Podcast – Recrutes with Grant McCagg
