Player Discussion Arber Xhekaj the Sheriff Returns Edition

[habdynasty]

Carrier was one of, if not our best D yesterday...

He little though. X is big and strong.

 

[Catanddogguitarrr]

Easy, Struble. He's the only guy we can sit for Xhekaj. Would be nice to sit Savard instead but that ain't happening

Or he can play Xhekaj as another forward. And teams play a 7 D sometimes. I think Savard is useful, for many reasons easy to find in this forum. I think Struble is okay. I'm not a coach but from what I saw I would say Laine is a player I would sit. I'm not a fan of players who have problems of all sorts, to a point where they can't execute simple plays.

 

[yianik]

Mid season X was simply bullying everyone at will and getting away with it. And of course, NOBODY would do anything about it. In the playoffs, extra bullying is mandatory and acceptable.

i wonder if anyone is advising him on what not to do. As soon as Guhle came back, he should of been on his best behavior and played simple, effective hockey. Instead he blew it and gave SMarty the excuse to bench him.

I'm not sure he's going to see the ice again unless we are down 3-0 and SMarty feels there is nothing to lose. Otherwise right now, he's even a worse liability because he out for 13 games and is going to handle the puck like a grenade.

Unless...SMarty watches the video tapes of Struble not clearing the puck on multiple tries and losing board battles...in the same shift. And of course bringing his pillow and snoozing on the second goal. IF SMarty was truly measuring on meritocracy, that should be the trigger to change.

Soo..take out Struble for X, who is stone cold.

Tough decision of SMarty own making...

I think you are correct, Arber is likely done for us this season. Quite frankly, I think it likely that Arber will never suit up for the Habs again and get moved this summer.

It doesnt take away from the fact we need at least two more very large , ill tempered guys to keep opposing players from charging through or standing in the slot. ( see Weber , Chiarot, Edmunson , Petry sometimes and Kulak ). Xhekaj fits that role but besides him we have Guhle, and thats it. And Guhle needs to get bigger. Struble doesnt have the size, and maybe not the temperment, and Carrier , Matheson and Hutson do not fit that at all.

Again, its not that I dont think MSL likes toughness and physical play, but I think he wont tolerate some negatives that come with some players like this. Too many bad penalties, defensive lapses due to trying the hit or being over aggressive. So why am I willing ? Well in the past number of games , including last night I see D unable to handle and cover the forwards attacking. So its not necessarily blown coverage, its that they cant handle it for lack of size or aggressiveness.

So I would have Xhekaj in there over Struble even if Xhekaj makes more mistakes as to me his 6'4" , 240 pounds and physicality is well worth it. MSL thinks differently but I think he is wrong on this, just like I thought Bergevin was wrong not having a true PMD in among that huge D he built.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

Easy, Struble. He's the only guy we can sit for Xhekaj. Would be nice to sit Savard instead but that ain't happening

Savard provides leadership, an indispensable commodity for this young team. But his decline is noticeable as he has become largely immobile. For this writer, I would have little hesitation going with 7 defencemen and sitting one of our less effective forwards.

 

[HabzSauce]

Or he can play Xhekaj as another forward. And teams play a 7 D sometimes. I think Savard is useful, for many reasons easy to find in this forum. I think Struble is okay. I'm not a coach but from what I saw I would say Laine is a player I would sit. I'm not a fan of players who have problems of all sorts, to a point where they can't execute simple plays.

F*ck it I'm in. Big Buff 2.0

 

[HabzSauce]

Savard provides leadership, an indispensable commodity for this young team. But his decline is noticeable as he has become largely immobile. For this writer, I would have little hesitation going with 7 defencemen and sitting one of our less effective forwards.

Interesting, which forward would you sit? It probably should be Laine but I don't see that happening. So either Armia or Heineman?

 

[ChesterNimitz]

Interesting, which forward would you sit? It probably should be Laine but I don't see that happening. So either Armia or Heineman?

If either Laine or Armia are playing injured, I’d sit them.

 

[Saint Patrick]

If either Laine or Armia are playing injured, I’d sit them.

Armia clearly is, maybe try resting him one game and play X instead but that aint happening.

 

[themilosh]

He little though. X is big and strong.

When are Habs fans (along with Msl) gonna realize, they need to roster a much bigger team? Small guys are nice and cute with great skill, but do nothing to intimidate opponents.

Hutson and CC shoupd be our only small guys ...... Gally is dead weight, and even more with his Bergy contract.

 

[Catanddogguitarrr]

When are Habs fans (along with Msl) gonna realize, they need to roster a much bigger team? Small guys are nice and cute with great skill, but do nothing to intimidate opponents.

Hutson and CC shoupd be our only small guys ...... Gally is dead weight, and even more with his Bergy contract.

I like small players when they have speed and skills like Hutson and CC. In playoffs times teams with big players usually wins SC. The rules are different, refs allows big hits. Having the opportunity to dress X and not doing it is mind bogging. There must be a reason we ignore.

 

[schwang26]

I get the feeling that they brought Arber along too quickly. Maybe he should’ve spent a year or 2 in Laval. Don’t get me wrong, I like him and think he should be in the lineup, but I don’t think they have him a chance for proper development.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

I like small players when they have speed and skills like Hutson and CC. In playoffs times teams with big players usually wins SC. The rules are different, refs allows big hits. Having the opportunity to dress X and not doing it is mind bogging. There must be a reason we ignore.

You can intimidate with speed and skill. You need a balance. I thought that Demidov looked overmatched in game 1. Once the hitting started he quickly realized this was not the KHL.

Its a war out there and now it’s time to see who stands up for the jersey and their teammates.

 

[yianik]

Interesting, which forward would you sit? It probably should be Laine but I don't see that happening. So either Armia or Heineman?

I think this is a good idea. The boys did a good job hanging in there but I thought during that game the punishment our D was taking will accumulate and they will weaken with each game. Having 7D in there spreads the pain, but I also think Xhekaj will help by paying back double what the Caps bring.

I dont think MSL will go for it as he will hang on to Armia regardless and Heineman is one of our better physical guys when he is on.

For me Armia sits. Try a game anyway.

 

[Catanddogguitarrr]

I get the feeling that they brought Arber along too quickly. Maybe he should’ve spent a year or 2 in Laval. Don’t get me wrong, I like him and think he should be in the lineup, but I don’t think they have him a chance for proper development.

Habs have been excellent in developping young players except for Arber. That's strange. It's possible but it needs further investigation. There must be something we ignore. And Arber have a publicity contract with La Bête et le Boeuf, he's on tv many times, it doesn't help the fans to understand why he's healthy scratched.

 

[Toene]

BGL has awful takes sometimes, but I agree with this one : all our players play bigger when X-Daddy is dressed. Even if he doesn't drop the gloves. They would be less tentative that's for sure.

Edit : Caufield literally said it earlier this year iirc.

 

[Tyson]

I get the feeling that they brought Arber along too quickly. Maybe he should’ve spent a year or 2 in Laval. Don’t get me wrong, I like him and think he should be in the lineup, but I don’t think they have him a chance for proper development.

He 100% should have spent significant time in the minors. Rushing him ruined him. It's f***ing sad to watch because he is as popular as any current Hab.

 

[Tyson]

Habs won't have a choice but to play him on Friday because someone will probably get injured because of the physical play.

 

[DemidovSZN]

Habs have been excellent in developping young players except for Arber. That's strange. It's possible but it needs further investigation. There must be something we ignore. And Arber have a publicity contract with La Bête et le Boeuf, he's on tv many times, it doesn't help the fans to understand why he's healthy scratched.

The year him and Guhle arrived there was many injuries on the blue line to start that year so they decided to start all of Guhle, Xhekaj and Harris in the NHL. Xhekaj was 22 years old already physically mature. Not sure he would be much better as a player if he played a complete year in the AHL or what we saw/see is simply his ceiling.

 

[Habnot]

This is the sign of a good organization, spots are earned - not given.

Xhekaj had a poor season, played 70 games but his production has fallen every year. He struggled this year and it's up to him to make the adjustments to gain the trust of the coaching staff.

Let's stop with the failed development - he's 24 and has 165 games played in the NHL and he was better the first 2 years. Struble basically had the same number of AHL games as Xhekaj and had more points in 15 less games and a +2 while Arber was a -13.

Objectively Struble gives the team a better chance of winning and therefore deserves to play.

 

[Toene]

This is the sign of a good organization, spots are earned - not given.

Xhekaj had a poor season, played 70 games but his production has fallen every year. He struggled this year and it's up to him to make the adjustments to gain the trust of the coaching staff.

Let's stop with the failed development - he's 24 and has 165 games played in the NHL and he was better the first 2 years. Struble basically had the same number of AHL games as Xhekaj and had more points in 15 less games and a +2 while Arber was a -13.

Objectively Struble gives the team a better chance of winning and therefore deserves to play.

Why oppose Xhekaj and Struble? Why not have both? Give Savard a rest for a couple games at least. If we keep all things the same we're getting clapped anyway.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

He 100% should have spent significant time in the minors. Rushing him ruined him. It's f***ing sad to watch because he is as popular as any current Hab.

It's way, way too early to write off this young player. For the last almost two months, Montreal has been playing meaningful games where the margin for error was non-existent. That Xhekaj sat for some of these determinative games was only to be expected. I think I can say with a degree of assurance that if we would be foolish enough to try to trade this young player there would be no shortage of teams that would be ready to pounce on the opportunity to grab this player.

Xhekaj is going nowhere and it wouldn't be a shock to this writer if we see him play in this series. Maybe as early as tomorrow. There will be a lot of crashing and banging tomorrow night. Xhekaj is an equalizer.

 

[salbutera]

Why oppose Xhekaj and Struble? Why not have both? Give Savard a rest for a couple games at least. If we keep all things the same we're getting clapped anyway.

Habs need Savard for PK, but I can see Xhekaj slot in for Savard at Bell Centre

 

[Sasha Orlov]

Not saying we should put Xhekaj in the lineup, but it’s crazy to me he is benched after a mistake over a month ago yet Matheson is good for a half dozen prime scoring chances against per game and remains our highest TOI player

 

[FLHabs]

MSL might be hiding his cards, but it does seem that Arber probably won't play anytime soon which sucks. MSL has to play him at least 1 game just so he can have that experience. I think he trusts Struble more, that's a given, but also, Struble's better skating is more effective at covering for Savard.

But guys, Xhekaj isn't getting traded over the summer . Y'all need to stop with that ridiculous take that looks like some weird wishful thinking that I don't understand the reason for at all. It's like some of y'all want to see him fail. Arber was always a long-term project. They'll keep working on his game over the summer and it will be his responsibility to show he belongs in the lineup.

There's absolutely no reason to give up on that type of player that early in his career.

 

[habdynasty]

Savard should have never played this year.