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In Hainsight: What to Expect from Arber Xhekaj |
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Follow me @KarineHains for all updates about the Montreal Canadiens and women's hockey
Fresh off shoulder surgery, Xhekaj will be hoping to build on a successful rookie season with the Habs. His first season in the league came to a halt after he busted his shoulder during a fight with Edmonton’s Vincent Desharnais on February 12. By then, he had played 51 games gathering 5 goals and 8 assists for 13 points with 101 penalty minutes (he was the 12th most penalized player in the league and the 1st on the team.
Even though Xhekaj doesn’t have a booming shot, he has a knack for finding lanes to the net with powerful wristers which have helped him find his way on the power play last season, 3 of his 13 points came with the man-advantage. If the defense corps remains healthy though, it would be surprising to see Xhekaj play on the power play this year.
His rugged play greatly contributed to elevating Xhekaj to the rank of fan favorites and even those who do not like fighting in hockey can’t deny that when he was fighting at the Bell Centre, the fans were on their feet and acclaiming the new sheriff in town. However, in his end of season media availability, Xhekaj vowed to be more selective when picking his battles next season.
Currently, the Canadiens have got eight defensemen signed to NHL deals, the veterans Matheson and Savard are guaranteed a roster spot and I’d say that stand-out Kaiden Guhle also has his name on a spot. That leaves three spots for which five blueliners will be competing: Xhekaj, Kovacevic, Harris, Barron and Wideman. Of the five, two have to go through waivers if they are assigned to Laval, Kovacevic and Wideman. That’s how Kovacevic landed in Montreal in the first place and the fact that he’s a right shot defenseman also gives him an edge. As for Wideman, he was signed as a seventh defenseman, and that will likely be his role again this season.
Barron, Xhekaj and Harris do not have to clear waivers to join the Rocket and that makes it likely that one of them will be making his way to Laval. Could that be Xhekaj? It’s a definite possibility, but it’s also very that the organization values Xhekaj, not only as a hockey player, but for what he brings to the team and his work ethics. That was made very clear when the Habs picked his brother Florian in the fourth round of the last draft. It’s also worth noting that teammate Juraj Slafkovsky admitted that he felt he could play with a bit more of an edge when Xhekaj is in the line-up, ready to stand up for his teammates.
I believe that Harris and Xhekaj are still ahead of Barron in the team’s organigram, but I wouldn’t be shocked if a rotation system was put into place to allow them all to stay with the team this season. It worked pretty well last year, and I do not think that the next crop of defensemen will be ready to take on the NHL just yet even if some do think Mailloux could be ready.
I expect Xhekaj to spend most of the season in the NHL and to see a fair bit of action based on a rotation system. Hopefully the blue line isn’t as decimated by injuries as it was last season and the fact that Hughes was able to trade Joel Edmundson means another open spot for the rotation.
I would therefore expect Xhekaj and those who will be part of the rotation system to play around 55 games this year, unless of course another veteran (Savard) gets moved in the run-up to the deadline. We’ll see if he stays true to his word about being more selective when it comes to fighting, but both Lucic (Boston) and Reaves (Toronto) are now in the Atlantic division and the Canadiens will take them on plenty of times. Although, to be fair, Lucic is no longer the player he used to be.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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