Player Discussion Arber Xhekaj: The Sheriff

[Habs]

You're just making stuff up to get mad at. Who actually hates Xhekaj and thinks Harris is untouchable lmao

are you new here? There are tons of people who think Harris is untouchable

Nobody I've ever met hates Jackeye.... even on here nobody doesn't like the kid lol

Well I've encountered a dozen .... not sure what to tell you on that

 

[JoelWarlord]

are you new here? There are tons of people who think Harris is untouchable

Well I've encountered a dozen .... not sure what to tell you on that

Again I really just do not see this at all. Harris is being thrown into virtually every trade proposal on this board, WPG 1st + Harris + throw in is the new Ryder, Halak, 2nd.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

are you new here? There are tons of people who think Harris is untouchable



Well I've encountered a dozen .... not sure what to tell you on that

Weird everybody i know loves the guy , even people who only see him as a 5-6 love the guy

 

[Tyson]

Weird everybody i know loves the guy , even people who only see him as a 5-6 love the guy

What's not to love about a top 6 Dman that can keep other teams honest and still play 15 minutes per night?

 

[Habs]

Weird everybody i know loves the guy , even people who only see him as a 5-6 love the guy

He's one of my favs too

 

[Habs Halifax]

Weird everybody i know loves the guy , even people who only see him as a 5-6 love the guy

Do you think he is done growing/developing? After two NHL seasons at age 23?

Once Savard is gone, someone like Hutson is going to need Xhekaj. He's a perfect guy to have paired up with a smaller type. But yeah, he has to mature a bit more. So many of them mature in the age 25-30+ range. That list is very long.

Today he is a good 5/6 guy. But none of us know who he is from age 25+

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Do you think he is done growing/developing? After two NHL seasons at age 23?

Once Savard is gone, someone like Hutson is going to need Xhekaj. He's a perfect guy to have paired up with a smaller type. But yeah, he has to mature a bit more. So many of them mature in the age 25-30+ range. That list is very long.

Today he is a good 5/6 guy. But none of us know who he is from age 25+

I don't know but all players are different , not all dmen keep growing some stagnate , others find another level , development isn't linear and I'm sure the organisation knows this. I'd love for him to get better but we will have to see , there's not really any rush unless contract negotiations turn sour.

He can and will definitely improve but how much is the real question

 

[Habs Halifax]

I don't know but all players are different , not all dmen keep growing some stagnate , others find another level , development isn't linear and I'm sure the organisation knows this. I'd love for him to get better but we will have to see , there's not really any rush unless contract negotiations turn sour.

He can and will definitely improve but how much is the real question

I like the potential of him being a nasty top 4D once he hits his prime. But yeah, it's hard to guess on how much he improves.

I get the feeling the Habs want him to focus on providing stable D and being trusted in his own zone. While he is out there looking for a fight sometimes. That area is something I do see MSL asking him to manage better.

 

[ghost85875]

Who cares about Harris?

Ship him off, we have better D in the pipeline and we also have Kovacevic.

 

[Rapala]

The biggest strides Xhekaj took for me was controlling his ice between the blue lines.
He was much much better at letting the play come to him and cutting off plays without getting caught out so much.
I watched a number of teams hesitate when entering the zone on his side or going after pucks in his corner.
That says plenty and we haven't seen that since Romanov left.

 

[1909]

I just hope his two shoulders will be 100% and that he will continue to improve his overall defensive play.

 

[Bacchus1]

I just hope his two shoulders will be 100% and that he will continue to improve his overall defensive play.

I'm hoping the good sign is that it was his other shoulder this time. Hopefully now he will be rebuilt like the 6 Million Dollar Man, and her will kick ass as a D from here on it.

 

[SnapVirus]

If you want to win in the playoffs you need Xhekaj type of player. Hes our Tkachuk on D.

 

[Gaud]

Hockey is an odd thing.. You build a team out of what your players can bring your team and try to get a full toolbox: one guy to chirp, one guy to fight, one guy to score, etc.

Then you have players that aren't elite at anything but not also not bad at anything. I took Torts' description of Poehling last season as an example here, but i think it applies to Harris. I think he is behind Matheson, Xhekaj, Guhle, Hutson, etc, because what does he give you that one of those players does not?

 

[WeThreeKings]

Hockey is an odd thing.. You build a team out of what your players can bring your team and try to get a full toolbox: one guy to chirp, one guy to fight, one guy to score, etc.

Then you have players that aren't elite at anything but not also not bad at anything. I took Torts' description of Poehling last season as an example here, but i think it applies to Harris. I think he is behind Matheson, Xhekaj, Guhle, Hutson, etc, because what does he give you that one of those players does not?

Calm, poise, leadership, smooth skating, moving the puck efficiently.

You also can't have 7 million dollar defenseman in 6 slots, sometimes those cheap effective guys that keep things slightly slanted in your favor every time they are on their ice are really important.

 

[Tyson]

Calm, poise, leadership, smooth skating, moving the puck efficiently.

You also can't have 7 million dollar defenseman in 6 slots, sometimes those cheap effective guys that keep things slightly slanted in your favor every time they are on their ice are really important.

Both these Cup finalists would have Xhekaj in their line up for this upcoming finale.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Who cares about Harris?

Ship him off, we have better D in the pipeline and we also have Kovacevic.

Harris is the logical one we try to move for a pick. Take whatever we can. Makes no sense to try to trade Harris and bring in another guy who has to clear waivers.

If you want to win in the playoffs you need Xhekaj type of player. Hes our Tkachuk on D.

Yup! You need ingredients in all areas and big nasty physical mobile D is one of them. Xhekaj is part of our core.

 

[Gaud]

Calm, poise, leadership, smooth skating, moving the puck efficiently.

You also can't have 7 million dollar defenseman in 6 slots, sometimes those cheap effective guys that keep things slightly slanted in your favor every time they are on their ice are really important.

great! no argument that he has those things.

my point is if i was looking for calm, poise, leadership in a game, id go to Guhle. Smooth skating and moving the puck? Matheson or hutson. Physicality? Struble or Xhekaj. I think all those guys are better in those specific areas, meaning that Harris becomes a jack of all trades, maybe a 7th D in this scenario.

 

[An0n]

great! no argument that he has those things.

my point is if i was looking for calm, poise, leadership in a game, id go to Guhle. Smooth skating and moving the puck? Matheson or hutson. Physicality? Struble or Xhekaj. I think all those guys are better in those specific areas, meaning that Harris becomes a jack of all trades, maybe a 7th D in this scenario.

Hockey is not static, can't always have a specific player for a specific situation on the ice.

 

[Gaud]

Hockey is not static, can't always have a specific player for a specific situation on the ice.

agreed, but would you rather have a knife to cut, a saw to saw, a screwdriver to screw.... or the jackknife who has all of those things but does none of them better?

 

[An0n]

agreed, but would you rather have a knife to cut, a saw to saw, a screwdriver to screw.... or the jackknife who has all of those things but does none of them better?

Depends on the situation, one size does not fit all.

What happens when those specialists are injured? Wouldn't you be happy to have a young, cost-controlled depth guy that can do it all and never hurting your team to replace them? Because it happens all the time and you don't always have the possibility to send out the player you want on the ice.

I'm not argueing Harris over anyone, just saying that your logic about using the right piece at the right time is good in theory but not always applicable in reality.

 

[WeThreeKings]

great! no argument that he has those things.

my point is if i was looking for calm, poise, leadership in a game, id go to Guhle. Smooth skating and moving the puck? Matheson or hutson. Physicality? Struble or Xhekaj. I think all those guys are better in those specific areas, meaning that Harris becomes a jack of all trades, maybe a 7th D in this scenario.

Yes, those guys would obviously play above him.. but the thing is that you need a bottom pair, a bottom pair that can be cheap, give you around 13 minutes a night and feel good about that.

Harris is that type of defenseman. The Stars couldn't trust their 6th defenseman and it hurt them as they burnt out after two big series and a third tough test against Edmonton.

 

[Gaud]

Depends on the situation, one size does not fit all.

What happens when those specialists are injured? Wouldn't you be happy to have a young, cost-controlled depth guy that can do it all and never hurting your team to replace them? Because it happens all the time and you don't always have the possibility to send out the player you want on the ice.

I'm not argueing Harris over anyone, just saying that your logic about using the right piece at the right time is good in theory but not always applicable in reality.

nope actually i think you agree with me, in another way. You are also referring as harris as a "young, cost-controlled depth guy that can do it all". im not saying Harris is useless, only that he is that replacement that will take anybody's spot.

My argument started when someone said he was untouchable.

 

[An0n]

nope actually i think you agree with me, in another way. You are also referring as harris as a "young, cost-controlled depth guy that can do it all". im not saying Harris is useless, only that he is that replacement that will take anybody's spot.

My argument started when someone said he was untouchable.

He definitely isn't untouchable.

 

[Gaud]

Yes, those guys would obviously play above him.. but the thing is that you need a bottom pair, a bottom pair that can be cheap, give you around 13 minutes a night and feel good about that.

Harris is that type of defenseman. The Stars couldn't trust their 6th defenseman and it hurt them as they burnt out after two big series and a third tough test against Edmonton.

Not saying harris doesnt belong in the NHL - was making the point that he's expendable. He may be the first one out. He also has D that are competing with him for htat 6th or 7th spot, like Struble. There are comments in this sthread that talk about him being untouchable.