Player Discussion Arber Xhekaj: The Sheriff

[Adriatic]

You have to forgive the reactions of some Hab fans when it comes to Xhekaj. Some of them are not even old enough to remember what it looks like to have a player that defends his teammates without hesitation.

 

[dinodebino]

Btw, MSL did entice Pezz to go after Grieg. Clear as day on the tv broadcast. He litterally told him to go after Grieg.

Arber took the Nilan route. Du hockey comme dans le temps d’Eddie Shore!

 

[Licou]

We definitely need more sandpaper in the forward group though...

Arber is gem, but he can't do it alone.

I expect to see 4 players on the ice react and choose violence when someone gets cheap shotted, especially when that someone is a top player on our team...

 

[HabsAddict]

This is what I wrote on another site and it had to do about team toughness...

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Wait WHAT? Were did all of these violence vox populi come from?

I'm gonna need a bigger bandwagon...and don't worry, all my screws are loose and will be happy to be your Captain Unhinged

Honestly, I don't see on ice "deterrence" anything different then from the neighborhood bullies and violence I grew up in. Until people fear consequences, they wont stop. Worse is if they believe that they can do whatever they want with impunity. Toughness MUST be wide and meaningful. Any perpetrator has to BELIEVE that he will be a target and opposing teams must BELIEVE that we will act.

We had that in spades in our glory teams but the last 30 years we become a corporate entity with more concern about being a saleable "product" then a team on a mission. ALL of it can be traced back to Molson and his "investment". The new management is adding some toughness, but it's hardly on a "deterrence" level. We still depend on ONE individual to make everyone an inch taller.

In the previous game, Domi cross checked Hutson and our "tough guys" like Tuch or Mailman didn't touch him. You think that went unnoticed by the Laffs? Or other teams? On the 76 Habs I can name 8 players who would take multiple revenge on Domi, but not us, not now. If you touched Lafleur, Riseborough, Mario Tremblay, P Mahovelich, Lapointe, Robinson, Bouchard, Chartraw, Awrey would take turns to fight or run you and the rest would target your head with a puck.

THAT is team toughness, not the illusion and one man show we have now.

 

[HabsAddict]

As for anyone who whines about "violence" and our players protecting themselves, you can move along and watch synchronized swimming or bowling. This team has a history of being tough. Only the last 30 years have we softened, maybe by intent to appease the skinny jean crowd.

Obviously you never saw our lions in winter maul the competition if they had to....and own the Promised Land

 

[Prairie Habs]

Arber is getting cooked on X today. Oooof…Coming from all corners of hockey commentary. Some even implied he turtled. Lol

I'm not on Twitter, I assume it looks like this?

"MSL needs to keep this psycho under control. They need to play the right way and make them pay on the (non-existant) power play so that they could try and win the meaningless pre-season game, then DoPS will take care of the (non-existent) suspension to a player thats way less important or not in the NHL at all. Maybe, if anything, he could fight the other team's goon at that start of the next game in a predetermined fight that means nothing."

 

[Canadienna]

One thing I will say, the refs will be looking to get Xhekaj for everything now. His name is in all the hockey news today. Similar to Rempe last year.

 

[BenchBrawl]

Arber is getting cooked on X today. Oooof…Coming from all corners of hockey commentary. Some even implied he turtled. Lol

Deplorable.

 

[Beendair Donedat]

He’s an undisputed leader on this club already, as he’s proven many times now that he will take it upon himself to make the other team accountable. You can tell he has a ton of respect from the rest of his teammates.

As many folks have already mentioned, this is a common theme in Habs history. Those that don’t approve of Xhekaj, would have hated John Ferguson. He wouldn’t even speak to the opposition away from the rink, and would go through a player, a wall, beat up some orphans it didn’t matter… and if not for him telling Bobby Clarke to take care of Kharlamov, the Canadians probably lose to the Russians in 72. He would do anything and everything to win, and that’s what he did, won championships.

This is how team identities are created. We finally have a guy that will hold folks accountable if the proverbial line in the sand gets crossed. When that culture of all for one, one for all, takes root, then teams take that next step. Look at those great Habs teams from the 70s - no shrinking violets there. Robinson, Savard, Gainey, Lemaire, Lupien, Risebrough, Tremblay, Jarvis.

I’ve been around a long time, this feels like the birth of something special. Like one player is taking the team by the bootstraps and pulling them into the battle. Of course his current violent streak is unsustainable, but he’s put the league on notice. And you better believe they’re paying attention! Our guys as well - Slaf and Dach getting into it, sticking up for themselves the past two games. It feels like a major culture shift. These guys aren’t the Milquetoast Habs of past years and I’m happy it’s finally looking to end.

 

[Team_Spirit]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1841685592536437168

 

[Pickles]

I love the fact that he pisses off Leaf and Sen fans so much. It's really nice to see him stand up for his teammates the way he did. We haven't had that in quite a while. Sure, we had enforcers like Parros and Big George Laraque, but neither of those guys really stepped up and defended their teammates the way the Sheriff did the last two games. Not to mention, the kid has talent. The fact that he didn't get a suspension on that beautiful Stutzle hit is bound to trigger Sens fans ,

 

[Habssince89]

He'd be the first to tell you that picking his moments is something he's working on. But let's not forget this is preseason, this is absolutely the time to take costly penalties and establish your threat level because the games are essentially meaningless. I have no doubt we will see a more in control Xhekaj during the regular season when the games actually matter.

Yes this is what I'm driving at. I get what he's doing, but he better have discipline when it matters

 

[Le Tricolore]

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

Hockey also used to be really cool with players smoking in the room and showing up to camp out of shape. Things can and should change.

Edit: it's 4:30 am and I had to wake up after just a few hours sleep so my examples may not be great but I'm just saying things can change for the better. Unfortunately the NHL is run by idiots who have shown time and time again that they don't care at all about player safety.

 

[Skip Bayless]

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.

It wont because reffing isn't perfect and will never be.

Hockey is a particular sport, incited towards physicality and violence to some degree. Hitting and injuries are huge momentum swings, and when those things go unpunished by the officiating, players take matters into their own hands because it could have a psychological impact on the team long term.

I know the trend of fighting because of clean hits seems dumb, but a big clean hit is demoralizing too. Players just want to even the score at all times. It's not just a game of goals.

I'm not saying I'm for or against it, but it's not a simple thing to just cut it out of the game because it "belongs in the 1950s". It's not entirely a cultural thing.

 

[Natey]

As long as hitting is a part of the game - late his will happen. Xhekaj's hit was late, but otherwise clean. I don't really buy into a blindside hit when you're skating towards the blueline towards two defenseman.

Xhekaj, who has not solidified being an every day player, is not going to let up while trying to still earn that spot.

Maybe the NHL should rethink preseason and how to best do it. I get location is a big factor, but having rivals playing multiple games back to back, with players trying to make a name for themselves, is always going to be fiesty.

I'm a person who really doesn't like fighting in the game. It doesn't really add anything to me except the chance of a broken hand, etc. But I love big hits and think it's an important part of the game. While I wish Xhekaj's hit was a second earlier, I don't see how it's any different than the Greig hit. They should be interference penalties cause that's what they are.