EDMONTON — Juraj Slafkovsky has the potential to be a star player in the NHL and the Montreal Canadiens are willing to be patient with their No. 1 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.

The 20-year-old forward signed an eight-year, $60.8 million contract (average annual value of $7.6 million) that begins in 2025-26 on July 1. Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes is confident in the investment.

“I don’t think the development is always linear; there are obstacles along the way and he’s had to manage the No. 1 overall tag and try to live up to what that means and what people expect of him, and now he’s got a big contract to go with that,” Hughes said Wednesday while attending the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup at Rogers Place. “We have to be careful about how we manage him and the messages we provide him, and we provide that to the outside as well.

“We don’t need him to score 40 or 50 goals, otherwise we will fail; the important thing is to continue to develop as a hockey player and be the best version of himself, because we are sure that the best version of Juraj will give us a chance to compete and win.”

Slafkovsky had 50 points (20 goals, 30 assists) in 82 games last season, his second-most in the NHL. He was limited to 39 games (four goals, six assists) as a rookie in 2022-23, missing the final three months of that season with a lower-body injury.

The player, who is expected to take another step in his development this season, is reportedly part of a young squad consisting of forwards Nick Suzuki, 24, Cole Caufield, 23, Kirby Dach, 23, Alex Newhook, 23, Joshua Roy, 21 and defenders Kaiden Guhle, 22, Jayden Struble, 22, Justin Barron, 22 and Arber Xhekaj, 23.

Hughes hopes that when Slafkovski’s new contract comes to an end it will be considered a very valuable one.

“Usually, on the back end of these long-term deals, they have to be underpaid because they’re effectively making more money up front than they would have if they were signing short-term,” Hughes said. “So I think on the back end of these deals, at least the cap number, has to be positive, and if it’s not, then you’ve got the wrong horse.”

Slafkovsky is the latest young forward locked up long-term by the Canadiens. He joins Suzuki, who signed an eight-year contract ($7.875 million AAV) on Oct. 21, 2021, and Caufield, who signed an eight-year contract ($7.85 million AAV) on June 5, 2023.