Player Discussion Arber Xhekaj: The Sheriff

[Vachon23]

Guys where not in 2010 anymore, there is not that much goon in the AHL, except Baddock Sabourin and PC Labrie. He won't get challenge that much more then in the NHL

Best case scenario is for management to trade Wideman asap, then use Kovacevic as a 7th D. I think just at the hockey level, even without the physical aspect, Hhekaj is sitting higher in the totem pole.
Our AHL franchise has never been a place where you send players to develop. It's nothing more than a black hole.

Or just send him on the waiver

 

[Sorinth]

Is that you MB?

???

You know I'm one of the posters who think MB was worse then Houle right?

 

[calder candidate]

you wait till that one game he's out, and its a nasty rough game,. you'll all be crying for the kid back in the lineup.

Mtl haven’t had a legit tough guy since forever I don’t think 5-20 games is going to change anything or make me cry… I want him in the lineup but with Matheson coming back we have to make a move. He is the only player that can without losing him and would gain from anything from playing in the AHL. The team won’t crumble without him and he won’t waste away in the AHL. If anyone try anything questionable they will have a visit from him in the next game, after he raged doll Kassian pretty sure he is a deterrent even if he isn’t in the lineup.

 

[CHwest]

you wait till that one game he's out, and its a nasty rough game,. you'll all be crying for the kid back in the lineup.

Dude it's 2022.

 

[Habs]

Dude it's 2022.

and you still need to look after the players out there, nothing has changed really

Mtl haven’t had a legit tough guy since forever I don’t think 5-20 games is going to change anything or make me cry… I want him in the lineup but with Matheson coming back we have to make a move. He is the only player that can without losing him and would gain from anything from playing in the AHL. The team won’t crumble without him and he won’t waste away in the AHL. If anyone try anything questionable they will have a visit from him in the next game, after he raged doll Kassian pretty sure he is a deterrent even if he isn’t in the lineup.

I'd take him over Harris any day right now

 

[Beendair Donedat]

Thought he handled Olivier fairly easily tonight, until they both got into some balance issues. Olivier didn’t land much of anything while Wifi landed about 3-4 decent rights.

Wonder if we will see him and Deslauriers on Saturday night?

BTW that hit on Foudy was beautiful. Threw him into the Habs bench like it was nothing.

 

[Habs]

Guys where not in 2010 anymore, there is not that much goon in the AHL, except Baddock Sabourin and PC Labrie. He won't get challenge that much more then in the NHL


Or just send him on the waiver

guess you missed Teasdale whipping ass tonight, rough game in Laval

 

[Help]

On the Foudy hit:

He's gotten better at avoiding the interference call after the opposition dumps it in and begins to chase. With most d-men, and with him initially, there is a split second of hesitancy. You can see this when you watch, and the refs see this, and it makes them more prone to make the interference call when they do follow through with the hit. Seems like he's fully committing right away, and committing all the way through the hit, the zebras seem to be on board with it.

 

[BehindTheTimes]

I like your analysis, and I agree. Everyone is talking about Wifi being the guy to go down, but WiFi adds a physical player who also will defend teammates, ti givwith a decent skill set. Harris could benefit from being able to work on his offense in Laval.

Harris has absolutely nothing to gain by going to Laval. It’s not happening.

 

[BehindTheTimes]

Harris needs to go, Arber is what this team needs, Harris is getting man handled out there. Matheson better not be the reason my boy Arber is out of a job.

Lmao, thank goodness you’re not in charge.

 

[yianik]

Harris has absolutely nothing to gain by going to Laval. It’s not happening.

Ideally none would go to Laval, but somebody is.

 

[BehindTheTimes]

Ideally none would go to Laval, but somebody is.

Won’t be Harris.

 

[yianik]

Won’t be Harris.

Betting is its Wifi, which is probably a good bet.

 

[Hannibal]

They won’t send Xhekaj or Harris down.

Kovacevik will be the one scratched. Wideman is gone

 

[ChesterNimitz]

Harris has absolutely nothing to gain by going to Laval. It’s not happening.

Its surprising that so many see Laval as the magical elixir to a player’s woes. The team is 500, playing an exciting brand of hockey and giving us all a glimpse of a promising future. Nevertheless should any player have a bad game, there is a resulting chorus demanding that he be sent to Laval. Using that logic where are the cries to send Caufield to the AHL or even the ECHL. You send a player to Laval when it is clear that he is being overwhelmed by the level of play at the NHL. Not because he has a bad game. Or even two. Let our young players learn and develop against the best competition. If they stubble and start to become discouraged, then you consider demoting them to a less challenging level of competition. This team still has swagger. They compete and compete hard. You encourage that swagger and don’t deflate and undermine it. That swagger may not result in numerous wins this year. But it will soon.

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

Thought he handled Olivier fairly easily tonight, until they both got into some balance issues. Olivier didn’t land much of anything while Wifi landed about 3-4 decent rights.

Wonder if we will see him and Deslauriers on Saturday night?

BTW that hit on Foudy was beautiful. Threw him into the Habs bench like it was nothing.

Things were going south fast for the other guy, he's actually pretty lucky Arber lost his footing. His helmet was off and he was starting to turtle up.

 

[CHwest]

Its surprising that so many see Laval as the magical elixir to a player’s woes. The team is 500, playing an exciting brand of hockey and giving us all a glimpse of a promising future. Nevertheless should any player have a bag game and there is a chorus of send him to Laval. Using that logic where are the cries to send Caufield to the AHL or even the ECHL. You send a player to Laval when it is clear that he is being overwhelmed by the level of play at the NHL. Not because he has a bad game. Or even two. Let our young players learn and develop against the best competition. If the stubble and start to become discouraged, then you consider demoting them to a less challenging level of competition. This team still has swagger. They compete and compete hard You encourage that swagger and not deflate and undermine it. That swagger may not results in wins this year. But it will soon.

I don't think that any of that is the reason, from my understanding it is simply a numbers issue.

 

[Vachon23]

guess you missed Teasdale whipping ass tonight, rough game in Laval

Teasdale is far from a goon and he fight he because Simoneau was hit high like in the NHL.

 

[Wats]

People being scared of Arber going to AHL because he'll have to fight and get hurt reminds me of this scene from Breaking Bad.



Xhekaj is the one that other teams will be worried about hurting their prospects. He is the one that knocks.

 

[Vachon23]

People being scared of Arber going to AHL because he'll have to fight and get hurt reminds me of this scene from Breaking Bad.



Xhekaj is the one that other teams will be worried about hurting their prospects. He is the one that knocks.

I could understand the concern 10-15 yrs ago when they where a lot of heavyweight goon but that's not the case anymore. Tough guys in the AHL are now 6'0 guys

 

[lamp9post]

They won’t send Xhekaj or Harris down.

Kovacevik will be the one scratched. Wideman is gone

Agreed. Wideman is our least used defenseman and the obvious one to waive when Matheson returns. I don't understand the speculation about sending down Xhekaj or Harris.

 

[loudi94]

Wonder if we will see him and Deslauriers on Saturday night?

I hope not. I'd rather he stay on the ice and only fight when there is a need. I'd also rather DLo on the ice too lol.

 

[BaseballCoach]

Agreed. Wideman is our least used defenseman and the obvious one to waive when Matheson returns. I don't understand the speculation about sending down Xhekaj or Harris.

Wouldn't Pitlick be sent back down even before Wideman?

I would not risk losing a player permanently just because there is a chance a forward gets sick on game day and Armia is not ready to return yet. We could play Wideman as the 12th F for a game.

Furthermore, we can put Armia on the IR retroactive to when he got hurt if he is not ready this weekend.

So again, no need to waive a D, we can go with 13+8 and still have Pitlick in Laval and not risk losing anyone.

This is a bit of a change for me only because Dud0n0v may be turning into Dadonov again, and we could give that a chance for a few games before making long-term decisions (waiver risk).

 

[BaseballCoach]

I don't think that any of that is the reason, from my understanding it is simply a numbers issue. View attachment 609508

But numbers of what? Overpriced or underperforming vets? Who cares if Wideman is sent down? He's hardly playing anymore anyway. Even Dadonov on his expiring contract is a lower priority for me than developing the kids who will be here for years. Finally, Pezzetta is a nice-to-have, but he will never be an impact player or regular. Slaf, Guhle, Harris and Wifi should all be, while 25 yo Kovacevic with his 3 year minimum-wage contract is a perfect #7D.

Ideally none would go to Laval, but somebody is.

Pitlick? Or if Armia is not ready to play, he goes on IR.

 

[BaseballCoach]

Harris has absolutely nothing to gain by going to Laval. It’s not happening.

I agree with you, but think the same for Wifi.

My choices for demotion are, in order:
Pitlick
Wideman
Dadonov
Pezzetta

And if Armia is out longer, we can defer the decision.

Mtl haven’t had a legit tough guy since forever I don’t think 5-20 games is going to change anything or make me cry… I want him in the lineup but with Matheson coming back we have to make a move. He is the only player that can without losing him and would gain from anything from playing in the AHL.

Why can't Pitlick go first?