Yup. Xhekaj's been bad but his replacements have not been better.
They need a guy like him to impose respect.
I was at the game. After the Barron hit, people in the stands behind the pressbox started chanting Xhekaj's name. Slafkovsky (who was laughing his ass off hearing it), Laine and RHP turned around and knew exactly what the fans meant and understood very well. Arber himself was pretending not to hear it, I'm guessing out of frustration. It was a clear indication (to me) that the players want this guy to play. They would rather live with the bad but have that fear factor on the ice.
At this point, the team is not winning anything so it doesn't matter that he sucks as a hockey player. Unless they get someone else to bring that element in the lineup, they need someone like Xhekaj to protect the team.