Player Discussion Arber Xhekaj: The Sheriff

[The Real Timo]

Now that it's finally settled, that Xhekaj had no hearing from the NHL, the Canadiens are behind him, and most of the fans are too, I wouldn't mind if they brought another bruiser, I don't mind Xhekaj taking charge but I don't want him to have to do it all alone, and since we can't rely on Anderson cause he can't give a f*** half the time, F.Xhekaj and Tuch are not there (and I really don't want Slafkovsky to start doing that too often), having another one in the lineup would help.

A skilled, yet physically intimidating team is what I hope for in the end. Xhekaj can definitely be part of that.

Half the time? That's a lot of f***s. I haven't seen him give any last season or so far this preseason.

 

[L4br3cqu3]

Half the time? That's a lot of f***s. I haven't seen him give any last season or so far this preseason.

Was trying to be conservative, but yeah, he's f***ing disappointing.

 

[CrAzYNiNe]

Now that it's finally settled, that Xhekaj had no hearing from the NHL, the Canadiens are behind him, and most of the fans are too, I wouldn't mind if they brought another bruiser, I don't mind Xhekaj taking charge but I don't want him to have to do it all alone, and since we can't rely on Anderson cause he can't give a f*** half the time, F.Xhekaj and Tuch are not there (and I really don't want Slafkovsky to start doing that too often), having another one in the lineup would help.

A skilled, yet physically intimidating team is what I hope for in the end. Xhekaj can definitely be part of that.

Brady Tkachuk

 

[FLHabs]

The wallflowers on here want the Habs to turn the other cheek. Players have been policing the game since its inception.

What they enjoy losing a top player for months to some worthless scrub taking a cheap shot.

Good for Wifi, he did an awesome job in both cases.

Can't wait for "hopefully" a truculent 4th line of Tuch - F.Xhekaj - Thorpe and a bottom pairing of A.Xhekaj - Struble in the playoffs . I already have the nicknames ready:

Lucky Luke, The Deputy, Thorpedo, The Sheriff, Ares, either that or nickname that 4th line T.X.T. and make it sound like a WWE team

 

[CrAzYNiNe]

Xhekaj hit was illegal would have prefer he stay on the ice and used is shoulder but it is still slightly less predatory than Grieg, and it is a direct result with Greig action. The intent was the probably the same both late, high but Stuzle isn’t tangled up with another played he isn’t charging him, they are crisscrossing the only player he has to worry about was Xhekaj… there is no contact to the head, regardless of the optics since Stuzle does a back flip ( don’t think he embellished but that impact was less violent than Dach because of the angle of the hit) you can’t penalize or suspend a player for something that didn’t. They were worn multiple time to answer the bell or they would be consequences… I think Xhekaj pick is spot perfectly since he should not even have got the 5minute in the 1st place… the win isn’t as important as the message that is being sent, stop running our guys.

We have seen 5-6 dirty play vs. Habs player in preseason we can’t continue going a that rate.

Saw it exactly the same way.

 

[Sorinth]

Now that it's finally settled, that Xhekaj had no hearing from the NHL, the Canadiens are behind him, and most of the fans are too, I wouldn't mind if they brought another bruiser, I don't mind Xhekaj taking charge but I don't want him to have to do it all alone, and since we can't rely on Anderson cause he can't give a f*** half the time, F.Xhekaj and Tuch are not there (and I really don't want Slafkovsky to start doing that too often), having another one in the lineup would help.

A skilled, yet physically intimidating team is what I hope for in the end. Xhekaj can definitely be part of that.

If you want a physically intimidating team then a bruiser or two or even three doesn't work, you need it to be something the whole team buys into. So even though we don't want to see Dach and Slaf fight, it's not a bad thing that they get the experience and send the message that they can take care of themselves and gain the confidence to really impose themselves themselves physically. Those two playing a strong physical game provides so much more then a 5 minute a night bruiser ever can.

I also find that sometimes going out and getting that "enforcer" before you've established that culture of everybody contributes to the physical side ends up being counterproductive as the more skilled players just don't engage like they should and instead leave it to the enforcer to handle.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

Xhekaj hit was illegal would have prefer he stay on the ice and used is shoulder but it is still slightly less predatory than Grieg, and it is a direct result with Greig action.

I am not going to bother weighing in on which hit was dirty and which hit was not dirty.

That being said, you absolutely can not in good faith say that Xhekaj's hit was less predatory than Greig's hit. We know for a fact that Xhekaj's hit was 100% predatory, not 99.999%.....but 100%, and that is maximum predation percentage lol. We do not know for sure what Geig was thinking but he quite literally, even with the worst intentions could not surpass Xhekaj's level of intentional predation.

Both hits were very similar in many ways but Greig could have prevented the hit on Stutzle by being a man and answering the bell.

 

[FLHabs]

Micheal Andlauer when he was still happy ( before buying the Sens )

View attachment 911750

Man, if the Xhekaj thread on the main board wasn't locked, this should've 100% been posted on there just to troll them

 

[BenchBrawl]

Fifth column operators are agitating in the Montreal media and elsewhere, questioning Xhekaj's courageous and necessary retaliation. Traitors.

Despicable.

Despicable!

 

[L4br3cqu3]

If you want a physically intimidating team then a bruiser or two or even three doesn't work, you need it to be something the whole team buys into. So even though we don't want to see Dach and Slaf fight, it's not a bad thing that they get the experience and send the message that they can take care of themselves and gain the confidence to really impose themselves themselves physically. Those two playing a strong physical game provides so much more then a 5 minute a night bruiser ever can.

I also find that sometimes going out and getting that "enforcer" before you've established that culture of everybody contributes to the physical side ends up being counterproductive as the more skilled players just don't engage like they should and instead leave it to the enforcer to handle.

Yeah, I agree that's a big hole in my rhetoric, it's just that I don't want Xhekaj doing it all alone while waiting for more to emerge, kids ain't there yet and our vets ain't reliable.

Wasn't talking about just an 'enforcer' though, just someone with some size and knows how to use it, can fight if needed and obviously can bodycheck. Just naturally aggressive, to be an 'example' to those who're coming through.

Sacrilegious, but I loved the Bruins teams from the middle of 2000s to the middle of 2010s, team toughness was definitely well-implemented.

 

[Kennerback]

Fifth column operators are agitating in the Montreal media and elsewhere, questioning Xhekaj's courageous and necessary retaliation. Traitors.

Despicable.

Despicable!

They litterally want Caufield and Suzuki getting their heads smashed in. Slaf to break his hand and the Bell Center giving claps of pity to Pezzeta after getting the beat down of his life again. Rinse and repeat. Traitors every single one of them.

 

[FerrisRox]

Personally, I can't condone an "intent to injure" hit, and there's no question that Xhekaj was absolutely trying to hit Stutzle up high.

I don't condone that regardless of what sweater you are wearing and regardless of the context.

But with that being said, from what I have read and heard, multiple members of the Canadiens tried to engage Ridly Greig in a fight after the hit on Dach and he refused repeatedly.

I understand that after he refused to answer for his questionable hit, it meant that someone else was going to half to pay the price and Greig will learn a valuable lesson that his careless play puts a target on his teammates.

Then, after that, he does answer the bell and gets filled in like a job application by Dach. Tough night for Greig.

 

[BenchBrawl]

Personally, I can't condone an "intent to injure" hit, and there's no question that Xhekaj was absolutely trying to hit Stutzle up high.

I don't condone that regardless of what sweater you are wearing and regardless of the context.

But with that being said, from what I have read and heard, multiple members of the Canadiens tried to engage Ridly Greig in a fight after the hit on Dach and he refused repeatedly.

I understand that after he refused to answer for his questionable hit, it meant that someone else was going to half to pay the price and Greig will learn a valuable lesson that his careless play puts a target on his teammates.

Then, after that, he does answer the bell and gets filled in like a job application by Dach. Tough night for Greig.

Fair enough, if we want to settle scores through fights instead of dirty hits, I'm all for it, but as you said, the guy has to answer the call immediately or soon enough. If he doesn't, then he's fair game, like outlaws in the Wild Wild West, who lost civil protection.

 

[RC51]

No place for intent to injure. It's the dirtiest play in hockey. a hit is a strong hockey play but not when its the head or a go out of you way to try to hit the head. Same for knees, the second you stick it out to hit the player it is NOT unintentional therefore intent to injure. The teams should have the right to demand a look see at any replay if an intend to injure has happened in plain view or in the back when the refs are not looking. Thats when a lot of this happens ( see dirty players) the proper penaty for intent to injure should be auto 5 and a game, the NHL looks at the play and if it IS deemed to be AN INTENTIONAL then automatic 10 games if no injure but if the hit was to prove out to put a player out for say 3-4 months or even more and all the way to ending a player carrier then THATS THE PENALTY
After all if i cause a person to be killed of a life altering injury I don't just get 10 days in jail it 10-20 years. SO in hockey if it's just a bad accident play just like in real life nobody is at fault. BUT things GO NUTS if it is an intent to injure or maim or kill. Pare is not the first ahl player to try to earn a spot this way ( is all about the BIG MONEY IN THE NHL) Years ago preseason was all about just getting back in shape , now it's about BIG MONEY and if I can hurt your team long term and stopping a team for getting points in the season so why not hurt them NOW before the season even starts.

Does anybody think if the refs would have thrown out Pare for the knee thing AX would have gone after Pare!!!! of again same for Geieg if he was thrown out AX would not need to do street justice.
Both times habs did not start it all it was toronto player and ottawa player. I don't think it was the coach that told to go forget about the game just hurt their best guys it will be good for us in the season. It's the individual player that is at FAULT.

 

[BJCOLLINS]

Canadiens happy to have Xhekaj's fight: 'We stand up for one another'

When the Canadiens see Arber Xhekaj do whatever it takes to defend them, they value that more than most people understand. They don't want Xhekaj to change, nor should they.

www.sportsnet.ca

Bravo MSL!!!

 

[Kennerback]

I would have loved to see Gaston Therrien going all « team toughness » on Tiger Williams after he lands a cheap shot on his teammate.

 

[Andrei79]

I love how Sens fans know they have no answer to Xhekaj. Tkachuk can try, but he'll get killed. What is particularly hilarious is making fun of the Habs who finished 5th... While they drafted 7th trying to make the playoffs. Brutal. They even needed a Canadiens owner to turn things around.

 

[Kennerback]

I love how Sens fans know they have no answer to Xhekaj. Tkachuk can try, but he'll get killed. What is particularly hilarious is making fun of the Habs who finished 5th... While they drafted 7th trying to make the playoffs. Brutal. They even needed a Canadiens owner to turn things around.

We’ve been in that situation when Lucic made the Bell Center his bitch for a couple of years. There’s nothing Tkachuk can do aside from phoning his friends like Gaston Therrien to do the job for him.

 

[BenchBrawl]

We’ve been in that situation when Lucic made the Bell Center his bitch for a couple of years. There’s nothing Tkachuk can do aside from phoning his friends like Gaston Therrien to do the job for him.

Bad memories.

 

[Kennerback]

Bad memories.

Guy Carbonneau crying in the media about Jarkko Ruutu going after our players…. His only answer sending out Kostopoulos 1 month later to get a cheek bone broken again for the 17th time. No f***ing thank you.

 

[JianYang]

Controlled..................Aggression.................he needs to find that line. He just does. I love the guy, and think we could use another guy just like him.
But he has to find the line...

You can see how people are in here after a player gets taken out. They call the team gutless for not stepping in, and they want blood.

There's no nice and pretty defined line. You either have that element of retribution or you don't, and if you have it, sometimes it's going to inherently be ugly.

 

[Le Tricolore]

If he was doing this in the regular season, I think everyone would agree with you. But not sure what you propose as an altnerative. The refs are not doing their job and opposing players are not respecting our players. And I don't mean a little face wash at the net. They are literally running our top players with serious consequences. Then when the players are asked to face the music, they don't.

The game is set up with codes which if not respected does not leave many choices. Two games, two idiots running our guys, two idiots who then keep their gloves on and avoid answering for their actions.

I don't want Xhekaj to blindside anybody, but he has to play with an edge, for now, while other teams take note of what happens when you run our guys. They have to believe there will be consequences that cannot be avoided by hiding all game or the deterrent wont work.

The players are livid. Did you see Evans at the intermission. Players are pissed off and they 100% have Arbers back.

Codes are absolutely stupid. The league has rules and has the ability to suspend players who don't respect them.


Letting the players police themselves is some real 1950s crap that every needs to be moved on from.

 

[Tyson]

Codes are absolutely stupid. The league has rules and has the ability to suspend players who don't respect them.


Letting the players police themselves is some real 1950s crap that every needs to be moved on from.

Sorry but the game isn't changing because you think it's stupid. Hockey has been this way since it's inception.

 

[Twisted Sinister]

The amount of fans on this forum that think this is ballet and that are content with our team having gotten their heads bashed in for the last 20 years with no deterrence is outstanding.

"Waaaaah, intent to injure, waaaah."

They go after your top guys. You go after their top guys till they stop. Beating up Greig won't stop them. They'll just send a new knucklehead next time. Cheap shot artists are a dime a dozen in the AHL and NHL. You go after Stuzle and maybe they'll think twice about hitting Dach. In order to legitimately deter, there actually has to be the possibility of the other inside losing something valuable. That's how deterrence actually works in all facets of life, not just Hockey.

Grow up and put your big boy pants on or learn to love continued injury-riddled seasons while crying like bitches every time a Sens player puts one of our guys on the shelf.

 

[Andrei79]

Sorry but the game isn't changing because you think it's stupid. Hockey has been this way since it's inception.

This is without mentioning that that despite official rules, norms have existed in quite literally every aspect of human life since its inception. This isn't 1950s hockey, it's still very much 2024 hockey.