Matthew McConaughay
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- May 3, 2013
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Player Discussion Arber Xhekaj: The Sheriff
- Thread starter Adam Michaels
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SOLR
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Hannibal
Fear the Weber
- Feb 11, 2007
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Matthew McConaughay
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What's the mistake?
He managed to skip steps in his development but he's clearly not ready for the NHL.
Hannibal
Fear the Weber
- Feb 11, 2007
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Matthew McConaughay
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And he leads all defensemen in the NHL in hits, even if he plays less, well, he doesn't lead anymore, but he's in the leaders.
Saundies
Fly On The Wall
Clearly? I wouldn't say that at all. He's held his own. The only bad game he's had was the Leafs game and you can probably chalk that up to nerves.
He'll be the guy that goes down when one of the two other D come back, but it'll be because he won't have to be waived to do so.
He's fine, I think he can bring more that's why I think he needs time in the AHL.
Vachon23
Registered User
Maybe not clearly not ready for the NHL but playing in the AHL would help his development that for sure
Saundies
Fly On The Wall
Yeah that was more my point. I'm not saying sending him down is a bad move, and it is probably going to happen, I just wouldn't write him off as "clearly not ready."
He hasn't been as good as Guhle, Harris, or even Kova, but I'd say that's more of a complement to them than a knock on Arber. Plus Kova needs waivers to go down and they're definitely not going to do that at this point.
Sorinth
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Keep in mind we've been running an abnormal roster of 15 forwards and only 6 D. When Edmundson comes back we are much more likely to send a forward down and go with the more standard 14 F and 7 D. It's only once Matheson also comes back that we would actually send a D down (Assuming no other injuries between now and then).
HabsAddict
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Matthew McConaughay
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When Matheson comes back, he will probably play on the PP, i would send down Wideman.
Sorinth
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Mentioned in another thread but there's no point in sending Wideman down. With 7 D that means one guy is sitting watching games instead of playing them, that guy shouldn't be one of the young guys, it should be a guy like Wideman who you don't care if they sit for weeks at a time. Then when injuries happen with Laval being so close you can often have the young guy you sent to the AHL leapfrog your 7th D and play ahead of your 7th defenceman anyways.
Hannibal
Fear the Weber
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What the hell have we been developping in the AHL recently?
Beside their blowout win yesterday, they look terrible. Barron included. Keep Slaf, Xhekaj far from that. Right now, Laval isn’t a place you send guys to develop. Ugly coach team that want to please the vets.
Why would development in Laval be better if Slafkovsky is already good enough to be our 5th best winger right now?
Who is going to mentor him best? Suzuki or Belzile?
Who is going to coach him best, St. Louis or Houle?
Who is going to challenge him best, Brady Tkachuk or Laurent Dauphin?
Which goalie does he need to learn to beat more, Andrei Vasilevsky or Zachary Fucale?
Why in heck would Laval be better for his development?????????????
If there is a good reason, then send Caufield and Guhle and Harris and Xhekaj there too, since they are not learning enough here.
Surely with the great development in Laval, the Habs would be better off with Bowey, Leskinen, Schueneman, Harvey-Pinard and Ylonen instead of the five guys we have on ELC. The Laval quintet have learned so much already this year!!!!!
Some people ....... I smh.
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26Mats
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But when matheson and eddy come back, I have wideman as #8, Kovacevic as #7:
Matheson - Eddy
Guhle - Savard
Xhekaj - Harris
Kovacevic
Wideman
Maybe Xhekaj gets sent down, Kovacevic is on the bottom pair with Harris, and Wideman is sent down.
Or maybe we keep 8 D, and send Dadonov and Drouin down, and go with 13 forwards...
If we have 6 D on the roster now, and Edmundson makes 7, and Matheson would make 8, but we want 7, then Wideman won't be 7th, Kovacevic will be. I would worry about losing Kovacevic on waivers more than Wideman.
BenchBrawl
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- Jul 26, 2010
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Il est la fierté de Montréal. Quiconque parle contre lui, parle contre nous.
He's the pride of Montreal. Whoever speaks against him, speaks against us.
He's the pride of Montreal. Whoever speaks against him, speaks against us.
Beendair Donedat
You sold a dead bird to a blind kid????
No, it's an accurate statement.The let me get some likes post!
Xhekaj keeps opponents honest. For far far far too many years, we didn't have a deterrent like him. We had guys who could hit a ton - like Emelin or Romanov - and guys were leery of them, but they knew they could get away with bullying those guys, and our smaller forwards, because they either wouldn't or couldn't fight back. Xhekaj just throws the body, and if you want to drop the gloves, he leaves a trail of carnage, as the Ottawa Senators and Zach Kassian can vouch for...
Wideman is a good bottom pairing vet, but he's small and he's easily manhandled out there. He's a warm body that can fill in, but Xhekaj is the future. He's improving every game, and has played well. Sure he has moments where he struggles, but he's a rookie defenseman. That happens. He's loved by his teammates, and feared by the opposition. You don't send that kind of guy down to the AHL, you keep him and let him keep developing.
Beendair Donedat
You sold a dead bird to a blind kid????
He's currently tied for second among defensemen on the team in points (with Guhle), with a lot less time on the ice. 1 point behind Savard. I think he's doing fine.
