Juraj Slafkovský
Slafkovský is a top-line Canadiens winger with a first power-play unit spot, and the open question is who centers him once Nick Suzuki is healthy.
Role
Sources from 23 to 25 October have him on line 1 with Cole Caufield and Oliver Kapanen: Inside The Rink (23 Oct), NHL.com's projected lineup (25 Oct, Heritage Classic at Winnipeg) and 5V5 Hockey (23 Oct). He is on power-play unit 1 with Caufield, Kapanen, Noah Dobson and Lane Hutson (Inside The Rink and 5V5 Hockey, 23 Oct). Dose.ca reported the same forward lines at the 24 October practice, and the 25 October lines tweets repeat them. Earlier in October the line was Caufield, Suzuki and Slafkovský (Inside The Rink, 17 and 20 Oct). The sources do not agree on his wing: ESPN, Sportsnaut and 5V5 list him at right wing, while the NHL.com and Morning Puck pages list him at left wing, so the label depends on the page. Behind him, Chris Kreider, Alex Newhook and Josh Anderson skate on line 2. I found no ice-time figure for this season. The only one I saw was from an unverified Morning Puck game box, about 16 minutes, with no date I could confirm.
He plays on the top line and the top power play with Caufield. Inside The Rink (20 Oct, citing Box Score Junkie) had him at a 63.2% Corsi-for and 4.9 high-danger expected goals on the ice, but only one goal on 2.4 expected, so finishing could rise. The unb.ca line data shows the Caufield, Suzuki and Slafkovský trio at plus-3 over 79 minutes, mostly at even strength. Reports tie the Kapanen pairing to Suzuki's absence, not to any demotion of Slafkovský.
His role depends on the center and on the power-play shuffling. The power-play group changed several times in October, including a Kreider-led version on 17 October and a Bolduc version on 20 October, and the units can change again. NHL.com lists Suzuki as injured (upper body) on 25 October, so the line has been in flux. Montreal was 5-3-2 at that point. Last season he played 11 games and scored 8 points with 30 shots, and that sample is small.
Where analysts split
The disagreement is over the line's center. Early in October and on 20 October, Suzuki centered Caufield and Slafkovský. From 23 October, with Suzuki listed as injured, it is Kapanen. Nobody I found says whether Suzuki goes back to line 1 or whether Kapanen keeps the job. I found no beat-writer commentary on it, only lineup listings.
Research confidence: reported. Outlooks are grounded in web search over current reporting and refreshed through the season.
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