Toggle sidebar

Player Discussion Arber Xhekaj: The Sheriff

  • Xenforo Cloud has upgraded us to version 2.3.6. Please report any issues you experience.
  • We are currently aware of "log in/security error" issues that are affecting some users. We apologize and ask for your patience as we try to get these issues fixed.
WeThreeKings said:
Do people honestly think wanting him to not take lazy and careless STICK penalties - is neutering the guy?

Be honest with yourselves.. if your boss said "I'm sending you to this project to work on your organizational and time management skills and when that project is done, you'll come back to this project" and you do that on the other project, then the minute you come back to the other project, you begin showing organizational and time management errors right away - that your boss would just let you do so without consequences?

Seriously, people are advocating that after 3 penalties in 3 periods, none of which were for being physical, or tough, or standing up for a team mate, or enforcing.. 3 PENALTIES in 3 PERIODS for stick infractions and just bad decision making.. should warrant more ice time?

Come on guys, be honest and realize you are being biased here. I don't wanna hear about another player taking a bad penalty, it isn't about ONE bad penalty - it is about 3 penalties in 3 periods after being demoted for being indisciplined.
Click to expand...
Bad penalties? Worked for a player like gally for years.
 
  • Like
Reactions: OldCraig71, Levard, Habs and 1 other person
jellybeans said:
I disagree take the sheriff part out of his game and he's not in the NHL i also like him for what he brings to the team with his fists but if we can get a good young player for him they have to trade him.
Click to expand...
Stick penalties are the bane of a teams existence.. they are reflective of being out of position and overcompensating for positional mistakes.. he's got to learn to read the play correctly, react positionally.

I would have benched him after 2.
 
Stoneburg said:
I think management sees great potential in The Sheriff and Barron. The two of them have top 4 potential. They are trying to balance developing both. Both have defensive flaws. They don't have enough players to send both to Laval, so here we are. IMHO.
Click to expand...
I don't see Barron as a top4 , he's a Mark Streit 5-6 clone for me, will get points but is a disaster in both ends of the rink. Would be nice to see arbs a top 4. I'll be shocked if Barron sticks in the NHL
 
  • Like
Reactions: Pointed Finger and Doc McKenna
le_sean said:
Also, apart from the fighting, what does Xhekaj do better than Guhle or Struble? So if someone is really offering you the value of a 1st rounder for someone you project is going to be on your bottom pairing, you kind of have to take it. I suspect Barron doesn’t return nearly as much.
Click to expand...
A bottom first rounder is usually a 3rd line forward, 3rd pairing D or bust. Recent examples Filip Mesar, Logan Mailloux, Owen Beck. Doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to trade Xhekaj for that kind of value if they project him as a sure thing in the lineup.
 
japhi said:
Some of you have seriously lost the plot. I get it, I love the player, but lets think about the context....

An undrafted player everyone passed on that was signed by MTL and then given a chance on a brutal d core. Is he going to demand a trade??... well I sure as shit hope not, he is your fave player because MB signed him and MSL gave him a shot. He might still be at Costco, or more likely the ECHL if not for the Habs. You may not get that, I am 100% sure he does. He looked like an ECHL player last 2 games, whose fault is that?

I f***ing love the guy, think he could be a force, as a shut down, physical dman. I would bet a lot of money he gets there. Couldn't care less if he fights, don't need him to get a brain injury for me, I want an 18 min a nights, 3rd pair physical nightmare and I don't think a few nights in the press box will hold him back from being a bottom pair dman.

Smarten up fellas. this is going to work out.
Click to expand...
Xhekaj had many suitors when he chose the Habs’ camp invite. He would have gotten his chance on almost any team the way he played his last junior season. It’s clear he could be a bottom pairing 10 min/game D on a bottom feeder. We want him to progress into a 15 min/game D on a contender. I agree that asking for a trade over whatever happened between him and the direction so far would be a sign of character issues.
 
So this looks like the 1st big controversy ( that I'm aware of ) around MSL. And its about MSL and Management handling of Wifi. Some posters are pretty upset at Wifi's treatment and others don't see any issue. Some want us to trade him


My take. Wifi is not having the same year as last and out of the gates his defensive play was lagging and so was his discipline. So Laval a good idea. However, I also thought MSL could be harder on some other young guys like Barron, and he wasn't. And Harris plays too soft a game, no doubt because he isn't strong enough.

So Arber comes up and gets all these dumb penalties. Not surprised MSL was not happy, but I just have the impression he isn't giving Wifi as much leniency as he does other young players.

I just hope Wifi has at least a couple more years to show us what he can develop into.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Levard
Tyson said:
Habs management don't like tough players.
Click to expand...
Struble, Guehle, Slaf, Anderson are in the lineup now. We’ve got RB, Mailloux, Beck on the way and last I checked X is still with the team. And then there’s Kirby.

This is going to be the biggest strongest lineup we’ve seen maybe since the late 80s.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Walksss and WeThreeKings
Stoneburg said:
I think management sees great potential in The Sheriff and Barron. The two of them have top 4 potential. They are trying to balance developing both. Both have defensive flaws. They don't have enough players to send both to Laval, so here we are. IMHO.
Click to expand...
We also have a surplus of blueliners. Some guys are going to get traded. I don’t think it’ll be X unless the offers are too good to pass up. I think they see X as being in the bottom pair in the future but obviously that would depend on offers.
 
  • Like
Reactions: WeThreeKings and Andy
yianik said:
So this looks like the 1st big controversy ( that I'm aware of ) around MSL. And its about MSL and Management handling of Wifi. Some posters are pretty upset at Wifi's treatment and others don't see any issue. Some want us to trade him


My take. Wifi is not having the same year as last and out of the gates his defensive play was lagging and so was his discipline. So Laval a good idea. However, I also thought MSL could be harder on some other young guys like Barron, and he wasn't. And Harris plays too soft a game, no doubt because he isn't strong enough.

So Arber comes up and gets all these dumb penalties. Not surprised MSL was not happy, but I just have the impression he isn't giving Wifi as much leniency as he does other young players.

I just hope Wifi has at least a couple more years to show us what he can develop into.
Click to expand...
Can we stop calling him wifi. He doesn't like it, it's stupid, it was a dumb joke by wideman on day one last year and the media creamed their pants and ran with it. No players on the team call him wifi
 
  • Like
Reactions: Habs
Beendair Donedat said:
It’s because the Habs don’t know how to develop prospects. At all. Somewhere along the way - not long after Serge Savard left the helm - the Habs suddenly forgot how to develop young players.

Before there was always a system. Christ, Larry Robinson played a couple of seasons on the farm before he got promoted. Before, players were groomed to be professionals, then were brought along slowly. System were learned on the farm that transferred to the big club.

Now, it’s a free for all, and the young players get the John Wayne in “Hondo” treatment to sink or swim.



Which basically means that the young players that succeed in Montreal, are the exception rather than the rule, and they’re succeeding IN SPITE of the system, not because of it…. Xhekaj is a one in a million, he’s beaten the odds to make it at every level, undrafted, and will be an NHL player, and a dominant one at that (*in my opinion). But while I understand MSL wants him to stop taking penalties (which he’s absolutely got to do), Xhekaj also needs to get some positive feedback and reinforcement from the coach as well. Xhekaj can’t be the whipping boy for everyone. It will only stunt his growth and prevent him from reaching his terrific potential.

Just my $0.02
Click to expand...

This regime is not like the last. We’re eons better at developing prospects today than we were.
 
  • Like
Reactions: WeThreeKings and Andrei79
Galchenyuk94 said:
Can we stop calling him wifi. He doesn't like it, it's stupid, it was a dumb joke by wideman on day one last year and the media creamed their pants and ran with it. No players on the team call him wifi
Click to expand...
I don’t know about everyone else but I called him wifi here because it was easy to remember how to spell. :laugh: I’m only now starting to use X instead. So easy to type.
 
  • Like
Reactions: rahad
I feel like a lot of people aren’t being honest with themselves about Arber’s play

The reality is that he just hasn’t been that good this year. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have potential, but the performance hasn’t been there. I get it, he’s a fan favorite but that doesn’t mean the coaching staff can’t keep him accountable or send him through the usual development channels
 
  • Like
Reactions: 417, montreal, dgeezus and 5 others
Sitting Xman after just being called up, him apologizing for taking penalties, wanting him to change his style of play...a great way for the habs to install confidence in a young player! Do not the habs realize that this type of dman doesn't come around very often? A great shot from the point, his exit pass from the defensive zone is 2nd to no one on the d core, and his physical presence is just what the habs need. When a player has limited ice time or sat, the confidence level and nerves become a factor. Xman should be playing 15 minutes a game Mls has his favourites on this team and get lots of ice, apparently, Xman is not . I do believe that with him being a fan favourite, Msl does not like that attention he is getting. The habs management should have left him in Laval... he was settling in and playing a lot of minutes. The worst thing would be to send him down again.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Matthew McConaughay
Andy said:
I find him and Barron have the same issue where they have trouble of making a quick play when handling pucks along the wall in the d-zone. That fraction of a second too long puts them into trouble. They either lose the puck or end up making a bad pass to get out of trouble.

He has all the tools to be a force though. Just needs to make quicker, more confident decisions with the puck.
Click to expand...

Yup, and he'll skate himself into trouble too when carrying the puck. He'll get himself trapped then turns it over.

He needs to make quicker decisions with the puck. I'm seriously surprised they haven't sent him back down to Laval yet for the break.

He makes NHL money as long as he's up, and the Rocket are off today and don't play til Wednesday.
 
  • Like
Reactions: montreal
I just had this thought - is St. Louis royally f***s it up and Habs lose Xhekaj we still have Chris Wideman.

MarkovsKnee said:
Gallagher has only really had issues with that as his skating has fallen off.

Xhekaj has issues with it for same reason. He's a step behind the play, so uses his stick to try & compensate.
Click to expand...
I always used my stick to try and compensate.
 
strykerman said:
Sitting Xman after just being called up, him apologizing for taking penalties, wanting him to change his style of play...a great way for the habs to install confidence in a young player! Do not the habs realize that this type of dman doesn't come around very often? A great shot from the point, his exit pass from the defensive zone is 2nd to no one on the d core, and his physical presence is just what the habs need. When a player has limited ice time or sat, the confidence level and nerves become a factor. Xman should be playing 15 minutes a game Mls has his favourites on this team and get lots of ice, apparently, Xman is not . I do believe that with him being a fan favourite, Msl does not like that attention he is getting. The habs management should have left him in Laval... he was settling in and playing a lot of minutes. The worst thing would be to send him down again.
Click to expand...
Agreed 100% he was happy in Laval and making a difference.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Don D and Tyson
strykerman said:
Sitting Xman after just being called up, him apologizing for taking penalties, wanting him to change his style of play...a great way for the habs to install confidence in a young player! Do not the habs realize that this type of dman doesn't come around very often? A great shot from the point, his exit pass from the defensive zone is 2nd to no one on the d core, and his physical presence is just what the habs need. When a player has limited ice time or sat, the confidence level and nerves become a factor. Xman should be playing 15 minutes a game Mls has his favourites on this team and get lots of ice, apparently, Xman is not . I do believe that with him being a fan favourite, Msl does not like that attention he is getting. The habs management should have left him in Laval... he was settling in and playing a lot of minutes. The worst thing would be to send him down again.
Click to expand...
They will after they lose him. I have zero confidence in MSL to handle Xman properly. As a coach, you do not want to show favouritism towards players doing the same mistakes as Xman but only Xman pays the price. Stuff like this is where players ask for a trade.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tyson
Again today on BPM and with Laraque in particular leading the charge that Arber’s days are counted in Montreal. The fact that Arber was scratched after only the third game from being called up and on the same day after having excused himself, is a bad omen.

I think Hughes made a mistake calling Arber up and should have let him get minutes and grow his game in Laval as the situation with MSL is only getting worse.
 
Runner77 said:
Again today on BPM and with Laraque in particular leading the charge that Arber’s days are counted in Montreal. The fact that Arber was scratched after only the third game from being called up and on the same day after having excused himself, is a bad omen.

I think Hughes made a mistake calling Arber up and should have let him get minutes and grow his game in Laval as the situation with MSL is only getting worse.
Click to expand...
I bet the Bruins or Flyers would be all over this if he was made available.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Runner77
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Ad

Ad

Top Bottom