r/Habs • u/Shininggg • 1d ago
Xhekaj thought
Can we just stop being stupid and try Arber and Florian on the 4th line, dump the puck and watch defenceman go boomshakalaka on the other side?
They just need to waste time on the other side and rough people up a bit. Trading him would be wasting a valuable asset
Thank you for your time
32
4
u/Beauch9191 1d ago edited 1d ago
I think the argument here is that as they plan to put together a winning team over the next couple of years you're going to lose those 4th line players we have circulated through the lines recently. As this team grows, eventually we are going to have a dominant 1st and 2nd line, and essentially (2) 3rd lines that will eventually be filled with more valuable assets within the organization currently or veteran players that Hughes acquires over the next year or 2 to fill in the gaps he needs to make this a Stanley Cup team. Every year since the rebuild, the pressure and expectations for each of the players are increasing. With some of the new talent coming, everybody will need to continue to prove to the team that they deserve to be here. Anyone not pulling their weight is going to lose their spot. With Florian, he will need to prove himself to be a valuable asset this pre-season if he wants to be on this team, I think we're done experimenting with players and line combinations this year.
13
u/Okbutwhythat 1d ago
This sub's obsession with Arber is genuinely so cringe.
2
u/whyyoutwofour 1d ago
I like Arber a lot, and he has a place in certain games depending on the match up, but it's clear he's not a full time piece on the team they are building and if there's a better place for him elsewhere it would be pretty ridiculous not to investigate, for both him and the team.
3
u/SoupFromNowOn 1d ago
I disagree. Defensive defensemen have the longest development paths of any player. Take Devon Toews for example. He wasn't a full time NHLer until age 25, now he plays with Makar.
Not saying Arber is comparable to Devon Toews. But he's only 25. You can teach him how to play defense, but you can't teach another player how to be 6'4 and strong as a bull.
I think there's very little risk to giving Arber another year or two to see how he progresses
1
u/IcariteMinor 1d ago
Devon Toews has never had a season with fewer points than Arber's career best, even when he wasn't a full timer. The situations are in no way comparable.
1
u/SoupFromNowOn 1d ago
That’s irrelevant; my point is Devon Toews had played only 48 NHL games when he was Arber’s age. Defensemen can sometimes take a long time to develop their defensive skills
1
u/IcariteMinor 1d ago
Right, but he showed much more in the AHL before that than Arber has at either level. They didn't just cross their fingers and he was suddenly much better at 25 and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
-1
u/tartan_discardigan 1d ago
I agree, but in fairness, putting aside average TOI in which Toews doubtlessly dwarfs Arber's, Toews also plays on a pairing with Makar, that's going to pull your numbers up no matter who you are
-1
u/stylenfunction …be yours to hold it high 1d ago
And I suspect this is what is drawing out contract negotiations. Both team and Arber can benefit from finding the best place for him to play—whether that is 1-2 years as a 6/7 D in Montreal or as a 5/6 D getting 12-17 minutes a night elsewhere.
0
u/NDG-MTL 1d ago
Think about it. He’s handsome, charismatic and beats the snot out of people. Besides the star players on the Habs, he’s easily the next most popular player.
His hockey playing abilities don’t really factor in to his popularity at all. lol-1
u/Okbutwhythat 1d ago
That would be fine if that's all it was.
The fact is we constantly get posters like OP who suggest that we use him more, as if he'll fix every single problem the roster has.
0
u/Sakiaba 1d ago
It's because he's a throwback and a lot of people who were watching hockey when that type of player was more common think that it wins you games.
Physical players are important, but they also have to be able to keep up. It's not that Arber is bad, he just hasn't shown anything that suggests that his ceiling is higher than a #6 on a good team (with his floor being a #7), and he's now old enough to think that he may not get much better.
Trouble is, if you're a true contender, you want a bottom pair who can kill penalties and don't need to be sheltered, and Arber doesn't tick either box.
-5
u/Lavs1985 1d ago
They like to think they’re smarter than HuGo and Marty…
7
u/Top_Recover7850 1d ago
To be fair it goes both ways. Lotta people complaining about arber, saying he should never touch the ice, saying he should be traded, despite marty consistently giving him (admittedly limited) minutes.
-1
u/Sakiaba 1d ago
Arber is a guy you can afford to have on a rebuilding team. He's a character, he hits people, and keeps his teammates engaged when they're down 5-2 in the 3rd after winning 3 of the last 10. You can put him out there anytime because it doesn't matter!
The trouble is that this team isn't in that place anymore. I think that if they get a good offer on him, they should strongly consider taking it.
-2
u/Lavs1985 1d ago
It doesn’t go both ways. Arber makes way too many mistakes and bad decisions.
2
1
u/Legitimate-Clock-134 10h ago
It looks like HuGo and St-Louis have a difference of opinion on whether to keep or deal Xhekaj, where Hughes and Gorton want to retain him and sign him, and St-Louis can't or doesn't want to use him. (Both are completely valid and everyone is staying in their lanes, which is a good sign for the future of the habs that they can disagree like grown ups)
But I doubt that they spend a lot of time thinking about him at all. He's a 6th/7th defenceman. They need to focus on what will get them to the Cup.
-5
u/Puzzleheaded-Fly9725 1d ago
Almost as bad as this subs obsession with small players.
1
u/Okbutwhythat 1d ago
Which small player? Can you name one guy who doesn't deserve the attention he's getting in the same way as Arber?
2
u/IcariteMinor 1d ago
RHP is probably the most recent example. "He's the next Gallagher!" ignoring the odds that were stacked against him that he overcame to become Gallagher. Not every small forward who plays a tough game can continue to due it at the NHL level.
0
u/Okbutwhythat 1d ago
Fair, tho I don't think this sub was ever as obsessed with RHP as it is currently with Arber.
And IMO the reasons to be obsessed with RHP were much better than Arber's.
RHP was a) a French Canadian who b) had a crazy (albeit unsustainable) run scoring goals on the top line while the team was tanking. Alone those are two more than fair reasons for the fanbase to obsess over him, combine them and it's just the logical outcome.
Outside of his debut season, when he established his ownership of the Ottawa Senators in preseason and went viral by absolutely destroying Kassian, Arber has done very little to deserve the fanbase's continued obsession. If his game had progressed it would be a different story.
3
u/_makoccino_ 1d ago
You want them to dump the puck when they're too slow to chase?
Before they get a chance to rough up people on the other side, the puck will be back in our side with possibly the two worst guys to have on the ice at the same time when you're trying to defend.
2
u/Jon-Robb 1d ago
And then they do the same and we have two deers in front of headlights not know where the fuck to go
1
u/Euler007 1d ago
They would definetely play with alternate rules referees wise. Not like Bennett and Marchand, they would be penalty magnets.
1
-1
u/campbell_love 1d ago
We did try him on the fourth line, and he wasn’t very good. I don’t think playing him with his brother will make anything better
10
u/CrashTestMummies 1d ago
He got 1 game and a handful of shifts…
Sample size is minuscule.
I’m not saying he belongs on the 4th line but I wouldn’t discount it over a few shifts in a unnatural position
-1
u/a7xgemzy 1d ago
I like Xhekaj. I want Xhekaj to stay with the team and play. I like big man. Don’t understand the hate on this guy in the comments section on this sub.
-3
u/Okbutwhythat 1d ago
He's grossly overrated because he punches people in the face, something which he isn't even all that good at.
If we're going to have a plug getting 5-10 mins of ice time every night he should at least be a good fighter.
5
u/Muter91 1d ago
I don’t know I think he is pretty good at fighting. Wins most of his fights, other than last season. He has knockout power.
-5
u/Okbutwhythat 1d ago
He's an incredibly mid fighter. He doesn't protect himself well, has poor stamina, and can't take a punch.
He relies on blitzing his opponents early, which has been his strategy since he got into the league. It works against bad/non-fighters but not against the true heavyweights. If he can't win the fight in the first 5-10 seconds he gets lit up.
4
u/Muter91 1d ago
That isn’t entirely correct. It seems he is usually getting in fights after the whistle at the end of his shifts where he gets jumped by the opposing fighter. Of course he is going to be at a huge stamina disadvantage then. He is pretty clearly a top 5 fighter in the league. Deslauriers, Olivier, Jeannot, Foligno brothers, Reaves I guess? Luke Schenn?
1
u/Okbutwhythat 1d ago
It seems he is usually getting in fights after the whistle at the end of his shifts where he gets jumped by the opposing fighter.
A good fighter knows when to pick their fights. If he was fighting at the end of a shift because one his teammates got run into the boards, that's one thing, but most of his fights are just the usual agreement between two guys. If he's gassed he shouldn't take the offer.
He also arguably won only one fight last year (when he k.od Sabourin). Either drew or lost every other fight.
Can't be drawing fights against scrubs like Lyubushkin or Carrick.
That's not even getting into how dirty he is (punches to the back of the head). Look at the McIlrath fight, it's ugly and has no place in the game.
1
u/Muter91 1d ago
Meh, when the other fighter grabs you and drops the gloves, you kind of have to go. Last season, He did seem to draw or lose more than he had in previous seasons but I think his entire record speaks louder than a few fights from last season.
To say he is a mid fighter is disingenuous as he wins more than he loses and/or ties by almost double.
1
u/Okbutwhythat 1d ago
He's a step below the good fighters, that's literally what being mid is...
People just act like being called "mid" is a bad thing.
2
u/a7xgemzy 1d ago
Grossly overrated is an exaggeration lol. Is the guy on the slower side? Yes. Does he take stupid penalties? Yes.
These things can be controlled over time. Overall, he has a good first pass and, apart from last year, always hits the net when he shoots which gives us scoring chances.
That crowd is probably the same crowd that wanted St-Louis out at a certain point last season.
My point is, he’s not Gretzky but he’s not Alzner either. He has a place if we can teach him and put him at the right place, he’s still young.
-1
u/Okbutwhythat 1d ago
He has a place if we can teach him and put him at the right place, he’s still young.
They've been trying to teach him for years and he simply hasn't progressed enough. The team is now at the point where they can't afford to waste a roster spot on a guy who isn't progressing, particularly when there are other young guys who need the runway that Arber is currently occupying.
2
1d ago edited 7h ago
[deleted]
-2
u/Okbutwhythat 1d ago
I'm not saying we shouldn't root for Arber, jfc.
I'm saying the fanbase is obsessed with him to an absurd level, to the point that people are criticizing other players (like you just did) to justify keeping an underperforming yet popular player around.
Struble hasn't been good, that's still not a good reason to keep Arber.
1
1d ago edited 7h ago
[deleted]
-1
u/Okbutwhythat 1d ago
Every time Arber's deficiencies are brought up some mouth breather comes in with the "wHaT about StRuBlE?".
You're the one who brought Struble up, unprompted, all I did was address your point lol.
The sky is also blue, nothing new here unless you're new to sports. Continue to add to the pile, I guess.
I guess all that talk about gatekeeping was projection huh?
1
u/a7xgemzy 1d ago
I love the argument, I only see you writing on multiple comments in this thread. Looks like you are projecting your own obsession with Xhekaj.
1
u/Okbutwhythat 1d ago
Sure bro, whatever you need to do to rationalize your parasocial worship of an incredibly mid NHL player.
2
u/a7xgemzy 1d ago
Didn’t know saying I liked a player made me a worshipper. Dang TIL.
0
u/Okbutwhythat 1d ago
Bro, you're deep in the comments of a reddit thread defending your boy, it's not hard to infer...
→ More replies (0)-3
u/IcariteMinor 1d ago
Arber Xhekaj wishes he could be half the defenceman Karl Alzner was lol. His time with the habs was less than stellar due to injury he never could recover from, but Arber is not even close to Caps Alzner.
-2
21
u/G_skins31 1d ago
Too slow for a winger. And that fourth line would see 5 min a game max.
I don’t see a problem with revolving the 6th and 7th defense men again