Value of: Arber Xhekaj

[FerrisRox]

If the Habs were even a decent team do you honestly believe x would be part of that group?

Yes, I absolutely believe that he would be part of the group. Without question.

Arber Xhekaj is not a goon, he's a hockey player. He's just happens to be very large and plays with a ton of edge to his game.

 

[Kents polished head]

I think you should perhaps consider your own emotional volatility on the topic if you’re writing a sentence like that in response to what I posted.

You have no crystal ball to tell me he will never be asked to perform above his ability. Are those other four guys you listed all guaranteed to perform admirably in the long term in the position you anticipate? Of course not. It never works that way.

I have no idea what you’re “laughing” at. Xhekaj is a cool player to have. Love the idea of someone that no one realty saw coming making an impact (to whatever degree that may be). As indicated, I’m not sold on the hype (see initial post by Habs fan in this thread about him commanding at least two first round picks in a trade). I would hardly equate that to “crying like a little girl”.

But keyboard warrior it up if you will.

I think it’s worth noting, that perhaps logically, tough players really pull the emotions out of hometown fans and precipitate an outsized amount of hype given what will be their actual impact. For another example of that, see: Rempe, Matthew.

Not saying either guy isn’t an NHL contributor. What I am saying is that neither is worth two first round picks.

Some people in here are making fun of Laine's injury and have posted 6 pages pretty much all bashing Xhekaj like there's no tomorrow.

Some even started suggesting what he did is a homicide.

Here you are writing a text wall giving an explanation to what is pretty much just a bunch of grown-up men crying about a guy they never met, playing on a team they dislike.

But sure pal. I'm the one being emotionally volatile about this subject

 

[KevinRedkey]

Yeah. puckpedia depth charts. Consulting them without applying any judgment sure speaks a lot about one's ability to convince he knows what the f*** he's talking about.

And he had used his judgement, you'd have complained about that instead. The reason we all know that is his point is valid either way, and you decided to nitpick regardless.

 

[Frenchy]

He's there to defend our players and i can live with his flaws .
Yeah no thanks , i'm keeping Wifi

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

Some people in here are making fun of Laine's injury and have posted 6 pages pretty much all bashing Xhekaj like there's no tomorrow.

Some even started suggesting what he did is a homicide.

Here you are writing a text wall giving an explanation to what is pretty much just a bunch of grown-up men crying about a guy they never met, playing on a team they dislike.

But sure pal. I'm the one being emotionally volatile about this subject

Why are you responding to my post by holding me to your own synopsis of what others are saying in regards to Patrick Laine and Xhekaj? I wrote a post, in which you then included me within a group of people that you say are “crying like little girls”. For what reason, I have no idea. The only thing I can think of is that you’re just a tad worked up.

I wasn’t giving an “explanation” with a “wall of text” for anyone else other than expanding on my first post to you. It seems like you’ve put every opinion that isn’t sky high on Xhekaj into a box where anyone who says otherwise is “crying like a little girl”. How productive and mature of you.

 

[BLONG7]

He's there to defend our players and i can live with his flaws .
Yeah no thanks , i'm keeping Wifi

He is..............part of the solution, and no one seems to like, that he plays for the Habs......and that's ok by most, habs fans.

 

[HabsDood]

He is..............part of the solution, and no one seems to like, that he plays for the Habs......and that's ok by most, habs fans.

Personnally I don't give a funk what they think, give me 2 Xhekaj

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

If the Habs were even a decent team do you honestly believe x would be part of that group?

As a Bruins fan, I would say yes to this.

The Bruins won a Cup in 2011 trotting out Adam McQuaid as a playoff regular. I don’t see Arber Xhekaj being any less skilled than McQuaid.

 

[Kosseca]

Xhekaj is probably the poster child for a player being worth more to his team then the rest of the league.

I dont see why any team in the league would want to pay a high price for what they see as fighter with meh hockey skills. For MTL, they need what he brings now and they may still have this romantic notion that he can learn to play at a higher level then he is now.

There are no deal to be made here....

 

[dgibb10]

He'll never be asked to do anything more than what he's doing now though. Which is making you guys cry like little girls and kick some asses on a third pairing.

The fancy stuff is going to get taken care of by guys like Hutson, Reinbacher, Mailloux and Guhle.

But keep going. I'm always in for a good laugh.

Low expectations for Arber Xhekaj if you expect him to:

never be asked to handle PK time
never be asked to help on a PP
never be asked to play above the bottom pairing
never be asked to play minutes outside of some of the easiest minutes in hockey (Over the last 2 years, only Philip Broberg, Tyler Tucker, and Calle Rosen have played a lower % of their minutes against elite competition than Xhekaj)

 

[Xirik]

As a Bruins fan, I would say yes to this.

The Bruins won a Cup in 2011 trotting out Adam McQuaid as a playoff regular. I don’t see Arber Xhekaj being any less skilled than McQuaid.

would you say the NHL has changed since 2011?

 

[HabsDood]

would you say the NHL has changed since 2011?

Nha, as dumb as ever, going back to Atlanta is a good sing.. Any other city had a 3rd shot?

 

[Danarqhy]

Other teams want him and would pay a good price to get him but their fans are too triggered by Arber to ever admit it, so they put out lame offers like a 4th to try to tarnish Xhekaj.

This was always how this was gonna go.

/thread

 

[dgibb10]

would you say the NHL has changed since 2011?

McQuaid also shockingly had a positive penalty differential in the bruins cup year

he drew 2 more majors than he took, and took 4 more minors than he drew. Overall gave his team an extra PP worth, which is pretty good for a dman

Xhekaj for context in about 1 seasons worth has put his team on the PK an extra 25 times compared to what he's drawn, making him one of, if not the least disciplined players in hockey.

And it hurts even more to go to the box when your PK lets in a goal 25% of the time

 

[HabsDood]

McQuaid also shockingly had a positive penalty differential in the bruins cup year

he drew 2 more majors than he took, and took 4 more minors than he drew. Overall gave his team an extra PP worth, which is pretty good for a dman

Xhekaj for context in about 1 seasons worth has put his team on the PK an extra 25 times compared to what he's drawn, making him one of, if not the least disciplined players in hockey.

And it hurts even more to go to the box when your PK lets in a goal 25% of the time

The team is still bad.. Might as well be entertained and develop Arber into a great player. He's a favorite here

 

[dgibb10]

The team is still bad.. Might as well be entertained and develop Arber into a great player. He's a favorite here

I think the resources are better spent on other players.

right now they give Arber the most sheltered of the sheltered minutes possible.

We'll see what they do in terms of minutes this year but I think you'd be better served making Barron, Hutson, and Guhle's, etc etc, life (free Guhle from the ridiculous minutes they make him play), easier instead of your enforcer.

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

would you say the NHL has changed since 2011?

Sure, it’s always changing.

I know what road you’re going down (I think). The league is more skilled now. You can’t get away with having “plugs” in the lineup anymore.

I hear that notion all of the time. Actually, I’ve been hearing it since at least my father began saying it since I started watching hockey in the early 90s. And I think it’s hugely cliche and exaggerated. The ability of players, be it because of talent or things like equipment upgrades, is on a fairly constant incline were you to graph it. The league in 2011 was far “more skilled” than in 1980. And yet, 2011 still had players that were known (relatively) for their toughness, size, faceoff ability, “smarts” etc.

Am I supposed to believe that between 2011 and now, speed and finesse have now become mandatory requirements for NHL players to where a physicality based player is no longer viable? The truth is every single one of these guys are skill guys compared to almost any other hockey player in the world outside of the NHL. They’re not all going to be on a level plane when it comes to skill no matter the time period.

I also don’t think Xhekaj is nearly as inept at hockey as some are implying.

Ignore all of this if this wasn’t the direction your comment was going in lol

McQuaid also shockingly had a positive penalty differential in the bruins cup year

he drew 2 more majors than he took, and took 4 more minors than he drew. Overall gave his team an extra PP worth, which is pretty good for a dman

Xhekaj for context in about 1 seasons worth has put his team on the PK an extra 25 times compared to what he's drawn, making him one of, if not the least disciplined players in hockey.

And it hurts even more to go to the box when your PK lets in a goal 25% of the time

That’s a real good point.

But thats a stat that I would think can certianly be improved upon over time in Xhekaj’s case. It’s not an indication of a lack of general ability IMO

 

[dgibb10]

Sure, it’s always changing.

I know what road you’re going down (I think). The league is more skilled now. You can’t get away with having “plugs” in the lineup anymore.

I hear that notion all of the time. Actually, I’ve been hearing it since at least my father began saying it since I started watching hockey in the early 90s. And I think it’s hugely cliche and exaggerated. The ability of players, be it because of talent or things like equipment upgrades, is on a fairly constant incline were you to graph it. The league in 2011 was far “more skilled” than in 1980. And yet, 2011 still had players that were known (relatively) for their toughness, size, faceoff ability, “smarts” etc.

Am I supposed to believe that between 2011 and now, speed and finesse have now become mandatory requirements for NHL players to where a physicality based player is no longer viable? The truth is every single one of these guys are skill guys compared to almost any other hockey player in the world outside of the NHL. They’re not all going to be on a level plane when it comes to skill no matter the time period.

I also don’t think Xhekaj is nearly as inept at hockey as some are implying.

Ignore all of this if this wasn’t the direction your comment was going in lol



That’s a real good point.

But thats a stat that I would think can certianly be improved upon over time in Xhekaj’s case. It’s not an indication of a lack of general ability IMO`````````````

Goons gonna goon.

Why is there this assumption that Arber Xhekaj can suddenly figure it and become a good hockey player more than any other near 24 year old dman who is currently not NHL caliber?

It's not like we're talking about a Philip Broberg who went top 10 for a reason.

 

[bud12]

Low expectations for Arber Xhekaj if you

McQuaid also shockingly had a positive penalty differential in the bruins cup year

he drew 2 more majors than he took, and took 4 more minors than he drew. Overall gave his team an extra PP worth, which is pretty good for a dman

Xhekaj for context in about 1 seasons worth has put his team on the PK an extra 25 times compared to what he's drawn, making him one of, if not the least disciplined players in hockey.

And it hurts even more to go to the box when your PK lets in a goal 25% of the time

In 2022-23, Xhekaj got 18 minor and drew 16 minor. So 2 mores than he drew
IN 2023-2024, he got 23 minor and drew 16 agains. So 7 mores

Talk about trying to downgrade a player for nothing

 

[Silky Johnson]

He tried to fight Greig but Greig is a huge p***y and a goddamn coward, and so he had to go after Stützle because if you're going against our good players, Xhekaj is going to hurt yours

He "hurted" the Habs because the refs f***ed up on the call (it was 100% a legal hit on Stützle)

We ain't trading Arber. If the Games against Toronto and Ottawa taught us something, is that we need more players like him, not less

What the holy f***. You never disappoint, do you?

Read the rule book or rewatch the game coverage. They spelled it out clearly why it was a major.

WiFi doesn't seem to be stopping anyone from taking liberties on the Habs and he definitely will hurt you by a. Really being bad at hockey & b. Taking stupid penalties. He also went down like a little bitch when Tkachuk went at him.

Greig admitted the hit, while otherwise clean, was a little late. He got the better of Dach in their tussle while giving up 4 inches and 30 lbs. WiFi was straight headhunting.

Greig plays on the edge but draws alot of penalties and unlike WiFI is actually good at hockey.

 

[HabsDood]

What the holy f***. You never disappoint, do you?

Read the rule book or rewatch the game coverage. They spelled it out clearly why it was a major.

WiFi doesn't seem to be stopping anyone from taking liberties on the Habs and he definitely will hurt you by a. Really being bad at hockey & b. Taking stupid penalties. He also went down like a little bitch when Tkachuk went at him.

Greig admitted the hit, while otherwise clean, was a little late. He got the better of Dach in their tussle while giving up 4 inches and 30 lbs. WiFi was straight headhunting.

Greig plays on the edge but draws alot of penalties and unlike WiFI is actually good at hockey.

We get it, you don't like Arber, we got you

 

[Silky Johnson]

We get it, you don't like Arber, we got you

What's to like?

 

[HabsDood]

What's to like?

We like him, you can't understand maybe

 

[Silky Johnson]

We like him, you can't understand maybe

Bad hockey player, what's too like?