Player Discussion Arber Xhekaj: The Sheriff

[Kosseca]

Looking at all these deals by Hughes, other than Hutson, there is hardly anything to be really excited about

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Arn't you a bit harsh with your evaluation??
I mean,
- turning Jeff Petry in Matheson, who became MTL no1 D... that is a solid move.
- Extracting a 1st for Chariot is pretty unexpected for what that guy was.
- Turning Romanov for Dach (value wise) is also a good deal.
- getting 2x 1st for Monahan is good (help us get Hage!!).

Now, he's far from perfect:
- Lehkonen was a bad deal. didn't like it at the time, still dont like the return. No problem with dealing the guy, we just didn't get value.
- Newhook, I never been a super fan of this guy, but on balance we paid more for him then we got from lehkonen... and that is... wrong?
- Toffoli's deal isn't bad value, but jury is still out on what we did with the return. The may have miss on the what next, not the trade itself.

Problem is that like most rebuild, you dont get to see the result of the trade until much time as pass... I mean, we dont even know what we can get with the other monahan pick.

 

[hvac412]

His play suffers because MSL won’t allow him to be the nasty, physical defenseman that he needs to be. He gets benched, he gets blamed and he sits in the press box.

He’s going to take penalties, yes he has to be more careful and he’s worked on that, but he will take penalties. But what he brings is a presence, a swagger. The Habs play bigger and tougher when he’s in the lineup. The other team’s forwards are nervous and less aggressive - see Tkachuk, Brady from early on this season.

MSL gives countless chances to Barron, Matheson, Hutson, Struble and Mailloux when they’re poor defensively. Yet Xhekaj’s leash seems invariably shortened. I don’t think MSL knows how to coach him to maximize his contribution, and he obviously doesn’t value toughness in his lineup. I don’t think Xhekaj will ever get a fair shake with MSL as the coach, to become the defenseman and player he should be. Xhekaj needs a hard nosed coach that understands what he brings and won’t just toss him to the wolves when he makes a mistake.

Exactly, we know what he’s capable of. We saw it when he came into the league, he faltered, then was sent to Laval, took it very gracefully ,improved himself ,came back and played well. Has a few hiccups and then gets crucified. The kid is obviously confused and the biggest problem I think is as you stated he’s being mismanaged. Not sure it’s even MSL that doesn’t like the toughness. We had the same issue when Deslauriers played for us ,even then after they dumped him I wasn’t sure if it was Julian who disliked that type of player, maybe Molson doesn’t like that style of play ,who knows. What confuses everyone is that a couple of weeks ago after we started the season with injuries caused by questionable hits MSL was all for “an eye for an eye “then all of a sudden Arbor is public enemy number one ! And to make things even more confusing, the media was criticizing both the system as a whole and singling out Arbor, doesn’t make much sense.Jesus !! the kid is only 23 years old. It’s not surprising that teams are lining up and salivating at the idea of Montreal giving up on this kid. Hopefully they get rid of MSL before they get rid of him but I doubt it ,once again history is repeating itself with the way this team is being run,soft, confused and without identity.

 

[Tyson]

Exactly, we know what he’s capable of. We saw it when he came into the league, he faltered, then was sent to Laval, took it very gracefully ,improved himself ,came back and played well. Has a few hiccups and then gets crucified. The kid is obviously confused and the biggest problem I think is as you stated he’s being mismanaged. Not sure it’s even MSL that doesn’t like the toughness. We had the same issue when the Deslauriers played for us ,even then when they dumped him I wasn’t sure if it was Julian who disliked that type of player, maybe Molson doesn’t like that style of play ,who knows. What confuses everyone is that a couple of weeks ago after we started the season with injuries caused by questionable hits MSL was all for “an eye for an eye “then all of a sudden Arbor is public enemy number one ! And to make things even more confusing, the media was criticizing both the system as a whole and singling out Arbor, doesn’t make much sense.Jesus !! the kid is only 23 years old. It’s not surprising that teams are lining up and salivating at the idea of Montreal giving up on this kid. Hopefully they get rid of MSL before they get rid of him but I doubt it ,once again history is repeating itself with the way this team is being run,soft, confused and without identity.

Confused is a great way to describe Xhekaj's play....he was so much better in his rookie year than he is currently.

 

[The Real Timo]

I agree but get ready to feel the wrath of the ‘Hughes can’t do no wrong ‘ fan club. I got your back !

Lol. Thanks

 

[The Real Timo]

Arn't you a bit harsh with your evaluation??
I mean,
- turning Jeff Petry in Matheson, who became MTL no1 D... that is a solid move.
- Extracting a 1st for Chariot is pretty unexpected for what that guy was.
- Turning Romanov for Dach (value wise) is also a good deal.
- getting 2x 1st for Monahan is good (help us get Hage!!).

Now, he's far from perfect:
- Lehkonen was a bad deal. didn't like it at the time, still dont like the return. No problem with dealing the guy, we just didn't get value.
- Newhook, I never been a super fan of this guy, but on balance we paid more for him then we got from lehkonen... and that is... wrong?
- Toffoli's deal isn't bad value, but jury is still out on what we did with the return. The may have miss on the what next, not the trade itself.

Problem is that like most rebuild, you dont get to see the result of the trade until much time as pass... I mean, we dont even know what we can get with the other monahan pick.

I don't think I am, and I appreciate the response. Arguably ANYONE who is of Jeff Petry caliber would be #1 on this team. Petry himself would be #1. So don't see it as a big achievement. A great trade would be to trade Matheson at TDL for some hefty return because off all his point. he won't repeat this season.

Benny's first was traded and I don't even know what became of it. If anything.

Dach, the way he is playing is a definite downgrade on Romy. And who knows if Dach will ever be able to give a full season to begin with. Not convinced at all.

Agreed on Moneyhab.

Overall, I still maintain, it is nothing really record and combined with the terrible decision to hire and then not surround St Louis with appropriate staff, and continuing not to, is the biggest failure.

 

[hvac412]

Confused is a great way to describe Xhekaj's play....he was so much better in his rookie year than he is currently.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence ,a lot of players seem confused ,again we know what they’re capable of ,the Ottawa game was a perfect example. Great game ! then all of a sudden we’re playing a completely different style. Jekyll and Hyde hockey once again .This is what’s frustrating ,we’ve seen this movie for the last three years, there’s no doubt that MSL has polished and improved some of the individual pieces, but putting those pieces together and creating a winning culture is what’s lacking on this team. i’m not sure if a winning team has ever been built from scratch with a completely unexperienced coaching staff, that’s one hell of a handicap to start a rebuilding franchise with.

 

[Tyson]

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I don’t think it’s a coincidence ,a lot of players seem confused ,again we know what they’re capable of ,the Ottawa game was a perfect example. Great game ! then all of a sudden we’re playing a completely different style. Jekyll and Hyde hockey once again .This is what’s frustrating ,we’ve seen this movie for the last three years, there’s no doubt that MSL has polished and improved some of the individual pieces, but putting those pieces together and creating a winning culture is what’s lacking on this team. i’m not sure if a winning team has ever been built from scratch with a completely unexperienced coaching staff, that’s one hell of a handicap to start a rebuilding franchise with.

One day it will be written that hiring a totally inexperienced staff was the mistake that prevented this rebuild to be a success.

 

[The Real Timo]

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One day it will be written that hiring a totally inexperienced staff was the mistake that prevented this rebuild to be a success.

Right... cause after Tremblay that wasn't obvious... Sigh. This org never learns.

 

[Tyson]

Right... cause after Tremblay that wasn't obvious... Sigh. This org never learns.

Yep hiring rookie coach and GM showed it's ugliness pretty quickly.

 

[habdynasty]

Don’t pick on da French coaches lol

 

[hvac412]

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One day it will be written that hiring a totally inexperienced staff was the mistake that prevented this rebuild to be a success.

Yup, the first mistake I thought Gorton and Hughes made was keeping Ducharme around for as long as they did then of course hiring a complete inexperienced staff. There was rumor that upper management suggested giving MSL some experienced coaching help, but apparently he refused and wanted to do it his way, who knows what the truth actually is.

 

[Habby4Life]

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One day it will be written that hiring a totally inexperienced staff was the mistake that prevented this rebuild to be a success.

Just crazy, but they did a hell of a job selling Bombay as this special miracle man. The media and most fans bought it hook, line and sinker.

I laugh when someone posts, it’s all good because he won’t be the coach when they get good. Not good enough when the “get good” but suitable when they are the shits, lol. Sounds logical to me

IMO, if they let this go to long this rebuild will go the way of the Sabres. Already off track beginning YR 4.

 

[hvac412]

Looking at all these deals by Hughes, other than Hutson, there is hardly anything to be really excited about

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Thanks for the trade info,I rate it a B+, not completely sold on Newhook, but that might be a coaching thing ,time will tell.

 

[HabsAddict]

I love what X brings and love his loose screws in protecting his flock. But I'm a Hab fan first and would throw him under the bus if I thought it was him. It's not.

I'm not going to excuse a coach who is not smart enough to figure that what he's doing is too smart by half. Whatever limitations the players have, it's up to Marty to set up a system that will serve the team, not his ego.

Hockey is not rocket science. What Marty has set up is simply too difficult to work with. He thinks it's simple, it is, but simple can be ineffective. His "simple system" limits the players options to get out of the cycle. That's why MThead and Greene created the "off the glass" defense. When we use it before we had Jesus Price in net, not Monty and an AHLer. Now we just get hemmed in like chickens and become a shooting gallery.

My BIGGEST fear is that Marty is so arrogant that he won't recognize his failure and players pay the price.

 

[Habano]

Something happened to this organization somewhere in the 90's. They're just so uncomfortable with having toughness in the lineup and they just don't know how to deal with these kind of players.

They should ship him to Boston, then they'll learn how they should've used him.

 

[Canadiens98]

Xhekaj needs a vet beside him that he can learn from. Not a PMD, a solid dman who uses his size and plays hard. Doesn't need to be the most talented player. I wish we had 1 more Savard - I know he's played poorly so far, but I'm willing to gamble he rebounds. He won't be a world-beater, but who expects that? We just need solid defensive play and he's more than capable of providing that.

 

[Habano]

Very true but the D that played last night was not an upgrade over Xhekaj, they were all brutal.

True but you had people calling out others about how Struble was in while X was scratced 2 games in a row. Why can we call X out but not Struble, Mailloux, Hutson et all who were all complete ass against the Rags

 

[Tyson]

True but you had people calling out others about how Struble was in while X was scratced 2 games in a row. Why can we call X out but not Struble, Mailloux, Hutson et all who were all complete ass against the Rags

 

[Habs]

This franchise has been allergic to big tough teams since 94. They briefly rediscovered it in our covid cup run... we had a big team that could play down low.. then back to smurfs, speed and fragility with an emphasis on safe spaces and being the better man.

It's disgusting to watch this team get smashed around year after year.

True but you had people calling out others about how Struble was in while X was scratced 2 games in a row. Why can we call X out but not Struble, Mailloux, Hutson et all who were all complete ass against the Rags

Hutson is untouchable, I double dare you to call out his recent shit play, you will be attacked.

 

[Habs13]

Looking at all these deals by Hughes, other than Hutson, there is hardly anything to be really excited about

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I don't think there's a bad deal in here anywhere.

 

[WeThreeKings]

I don't think there's a bad deal in here anywhere.

People really trying hard to hate on the most competent group since the beginning of the 2000s by a country mile.

Wah wah wah I want a rebuild to be over by year 3.

 

[Tyson]

People really trying hard to hate on the most competent group since the beginning of the 2000s by a country mile.

Wah wah wah I want a rebuild to be over by year 3.

No sir I know the rebuild is far from over and management is straddled with several bad contracts, I just want to see on ice leadership, decent play in the D zone, i want to see a team ready to play when the puck drops.

 

[WeThreeKings]

No sir I know the rebuild is far from over and management is straddled with several bad contracts, I just want to see on ice leadership, decent play in the D zone, i want to see a team ready to play when the puck drops.

But what is more true.. the team last year that competed most nights, led the league in 1 goal games, and lost most nights due to a lack of talent and not a lack of execution/pace

or a less than 10 game sample to start the season where everybody looks off?

I'm inclined to believe that the larger sample size of the horses in the room is more indicative of who they are than a struggling young roster to start the year.

 

[jellybeans]

Looking at all these deals by Hughes, other than Hutson, there is hardly anything to be really excited about

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Some very good deals in there but what they did with the picks is another story.

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

Looking at all these deals by Hughes, other than Hutson, there is hardly anything to be really excited about

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The Hutson deal was more luck that he was still there, as they didn't target him from Edmonton and he was a nice surprise.

The Toffoli deal might be really nice in turn.

Mike Matheson and a 4th, who's a solid prospect for the Habs is a good deal.

The dumping of Petry again along with others to get a 2nd and a 3rd is a good deal.

The Monahan deal to take him on for free, then trade him for a 1st (later added the 2nd from the Barron trade to move up and select Hage) is a nice deal.

I don't hate Hughes, I don't particularly like him, but he's made deals and been somewhat aggressive.

Let's not forget he got Laine and a 2nd for Harris. Sucks Laine got hurt as I was hoping to eat crow, but that's a well worth it deal.

In comparison, Bergevin didn't try and get Teravainen and Bickell for futures. Have to imagine the Hawks would have traded with him and his connection over the Canes, but when you're an idiot you don't do basic things.