HF Habs: Trade Proposal Thread 92 Waiting on the DRAFT Edition

[Laboeuf]

I am very ok with Arber Xhekaj as #6 or #7. He is what he is and not many players on the team is like him. The fact that he started playing at 13 and still made the NhL is unbelievable. Sure there are holes in his game but he is an element others teams are scared of.

You don’t see teams running Caufield or Hutson. Players know they will get a punch in the face from Xhekaj.

Also his brother Florin Xhekaj is like Shayne Corson so this team needs size and grit.

I say resign Xhekaj 5 more years.

 

[Sterling Archer]

A D unit of:

Hutson RHD
Guhle Carrier
Xhekaj/Struble Reinbacher

would be a hell of a solid unit to go against any team on any night.

 

[hvac412]

Yes let’s focus on how an undrafted enforcer with 5th D ceiling and his 4th (maybe 3rd at most) line upside brother might not benefit from having a coach who’s successfully helped develop Hutson, Caufield, Slaf and all these unimportant players playing at the top of our lineup

yes and lets focus on developing the easier half of whats needed to take your team all the way

 

[hvac412]

s

Is it Marty fault if Xhekaj went for the hit on the 2vs2 on the 3rd goal of Carolina? I’m a Xhekaj fan but he needs to play better. Yes he needs to play better for sure but if your going to punish him at the slightest error your never going to develop his full potential,this is what a rookie coach looks like.

 

[sampollock]

Throw an offer at Marner this summer.

get him out of figville

 

[SpeedyPotato]

yes and lets focus on developing the easier half of whats needed to take your team all the way

Dude what the hell are you talking about? First of all, Florian isn’t here yet so we don’t even know how he’ll fit. 2nd, Arber was given a starting role all year over Struble, he’s been given a regular shift and opportunity and he’d been doing well until he starting making stupid mistakes that cost the team.

And the easier half? I’m sorry but you remember Caufield a few years ago? Nowhere near the player he is now. Everyone said Hutson couldn’t defend. Marty’s been great at managing our most important assets, and he’s actually been pretty good at managing the supporting cast as well which is a huge reason we’re in a playoff spot. I get you love Arber, I love him too and I hope he stays and has a long productive career here, but you’re not even making an argument here.

 

[sampollock]

A D unit of:

Hutson RHD
Guhle Carrier
Xhekaj/Struble Reinbacher

would be a hell of a solid unit to go against any team on any night.

reinbacher needs to get heathy.. that is the big ?

 

[hvac412]

Dude what the hell are you talking about? First of all, Florian isn’t here yet so we don’t even know how he’ll fit. 2nd, Arber was given a starting role all year over Struble, he’s been given a regular shift and opportunity and he’d been doing well until he starting making stupid mistakes that cost the team.

And the easier half? I’m sorry but you remember Caufield a few years ago? Nowhere near the player he is now. Everyone said Hutson couldn’t defend. Marty’s been great at managing our most important assets, and he’s actually been pretty good at managing the supporting cast as well which is a huge reason we’re in a playoff spot. I get you love Arber, I love him too and I hope he stays and has a long productive career here, but you’re not even making an argument here.

l'm not really focusing on Arber and yes i too am disapointed in his development but i don't think Marty is an experianced enough to coach that type of player correctly,Stupid mistakes ?there's been plenty to go around. There are some coaches that will get you to the playoffs and some that will get you through them ,I'm not impressed with Marty at all,after three years we still have no identity except for being inconsistent . but that's only my opinion,we'll see in a couple of years

 

[Sterling Archer]

reinbacher needs to get heathy.. that is the big ?

If he's not, it's more of a reason to get a top pairing RHD. Than hopefully Mailloux can sub into the bottom pairing.

 

[sampollock]

If he's not, it's more of a reason to get a top pairing RHD. Than hopefully Mailloux can sub into the bottom pairing.

KH better figure this out soon

 

[Sterling Archer]

KH better figure this out soon

He'll have all off season to get it done and going into 2026 where we'll have more cap space going into a a rising cap.

 

[vokiel]

Hutson already plays 24 mins a game and doesn’t look tired. Guhle can play 22 mins a game without hurting the team. Either Reinbacher or Mailloux play on the bottom pairing and they can be on PP2.

There’s really no need for Matheson moving forward. There’s certainly zero need to extend him.

Yes but the majority of his zone starts according to stats are OZone, easier than DZone.

That is what worries.

 

[Catanddogguitarrr]

The addition of Demidov will help a lot and Reinbacher replacing Savard will be a hands down major upgrade, even though we will lose our punching bag for errant pucks.

Hughes' ability to add a genuine 2C will determine whether we take a huge step forward or not next season.

We will still have the veteran presence of Power Horse and my Cousin, Gallagher, along with Evans who will help keep the pivot line on an even keel.

After that, it will be a question of seeing if Kapanen or Beck (or both) make the roster and which one plays C in Montreal, or if Newhook owns the spot while the younger prospects keep honing their skills at the AHL level in Laval?

I would like to see the Habs ice a line of Newhook - Kapanen - Heineman to fill out the bottom-6 with Anderson - Evans - Gallagher as the other line.

As you can see, I don't have much hope for Dach.

Caufield - Suzuki - Slafkovsky
Laine - Acquired 2C - Demidov
Newhook - Kapanen - Heineman
Anderson - Evans - Gallagher

I'm almost losing faith Hughes will acquire that 2c. He can flop getting one and come back saying it's Dach or Newhook or Evans, depends on injures. As always. See, what does an unoptimistic day when it's time to write a post, lol.

 

[Essenege]

A D unit of:

Hutson RHD
Guhle Carrier
Xhekaj/Struble Reinbacher

would be a hell of a solid unit to go against any team on any night.

If Reinbacher makes the team Hutson has shown he can be quite effective on the right side, so maybe no other RD needed

 

[Sterling Archer]

If Reinbacher makes the team Hutson has shown he can be quite effective on the right side, so maybe no other RD needed

No matter how comfortable he is playing the right, his natural position is the left. Guhle, Struble and Matheson also played the right and looked fine but invariably were better on the left.

Having a natural top pairing D is something I think they need to be truly competitive. Hutson et al can sub in but it’s not a formula for long term success.

 

[yianik]

Unless you're getting a really solid return and can replace him, I'm not sure the juice would be worth the squeeze in trading him. You can easily hang on to him and he won't hurt your team.

Bro, I want to keep him, but I think hes at the bottom of the D roster.

 

[therocket9]

Hutson already plays 24 mins a game and doesn’t look tired. Guhle can play 22 mins a game without hurting the team. Either Reinbacher or Mailloux play on the bottom pairing and they can be on PP2.

There’s really no need for Matheson moving forward. There’s certainly zero need to extend him.

Yes 100% cannot extend Matheson who will turn 33 first year of his new contract.

 

[yianik]

i'd rather msl move on before he ruins his brother as well

There has been a back and forth on this issue , just like there was with Emelin. I loved Emelin, but MT didnt like him going for the big hits, which I accepted because I thought teams didnt play as aggressively with Emelin on the ice. I do think other coaches would play Xhekaj more if they were our bench boss.

 

[Sterling Archer]

Bro, I want to keep him, but I think hes at the bottom of the D roster.

Agreed.

 

[salbutera]

Do you realize what you just typed?

"Matheson, the defenceman, sucks because he starts his shifts in the defensive zone"

Do you not see what the inherent problem is?

Also he starts only 54% of his shifts in the defensive zone. There’s nothing abnormal about that. Carrier is at 63% and Guhle 59%.

That deployment has changed drastically in last 10-weeks - getting significantly more vs 1st half of season

 

[vokiel]

A D unit of:

Hutson RHD
Guhle Carrier
Xhekaj/Struble Reinbacher

would be a hell of a solid unit to go against any team on any night.

Maybe that's a controversial opinion, but I don't think we drafted Reinbacher over Michkov, who's competing for the Calder vs Hutson, to play 3rd pairing minutes. Specially when Hutson is averaging ~23 minutes per night. He's gonna have pressure and the lowest amount I'd play him for is a proverbial 20 minutes, with Carrier not handling more than 18 per game.

That's what happens when you're highly regarded after your draft.

 

[BigDaddyLurch]

...the more i think about it, the more scared I am that it actually MIGHT be Zegras...

 

[sampollock]

...the more i think about it, the more scared I am that it actually MIGHT be Zegras...

nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

[Sterling Archer]

Maybe that's a controversial opinion, but I don't think we drafted Reinbacher over Michkov, who's competing for the Calder vs Hutson, to play 3rd pairing minutes. Specially when Hutson is averaging ~23 minutes per night. He's gonna have pressure and the lowest amount I'd play him for is a proverbial 20 minutes, with Carrier not handling more than 18 per game.

That's what happens when you're highly regarded after your draft.

I only have Reinbacher on the 3rd pairing starting off the year. The hope would be for him to move up the lineup as he gets more adapted to NHL play and slowly bring him along. Ultimately, I's hope he becomes the top pairing RHD in the future but would not want him to start there and burn out. Shelter him until carrier's contract comes up, then move him to 2nd pairing and so on.

 

[Captain Mountain]

Yes but the majority of his zone starts according to stats are OZone, easier than DZone.

That is what worries.

I don't think Matheson serves no purpose (ideally you find a RD upgrade), but Hutson isn't that sheltered. The bigger issue is that Matheson, Carrier and Guhle play incredibly difficult minutes for Montreal, and that its not exactly easy to replace those minutes. Guhle-Carrier was effective in those minutes, but Montreal needs another clear top-4 D if they want to take the next step. I wouldn't be prepared to bet one of Struble, Xhekaj, Reinbacher, Mailloux, etc. can do that next season.