During Wednesday’s taping of the La Poche Bleue podcast, Lapierre made a monster statement about a potential deal involving Arber Xhekaj.
In short, he’s absolutely not open to the idea of trading Xhekaj. His only exception? Connor McDavid, no less.
If the phone rings: “Is that (Connor) McDavid? No? Bye!” – Maxim Lapierre
To set the record straight, Guillaume Latendresse and Maxim Lapierre went on to explain that they weren’t comparing Xhekaj to McDavid, but that it was a way of showing just how untouchable Xhekaj is for the Canadiens.
All this talk is because on Sunday, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period revealed that several teams had contacted Kent Hughes about a potential deal involving Arber Xhekaj. According to Pagnotta, Hughes has told the other general managers that he doesn’t want to trade his defenseman.
Lapierre’s main thought is that if several teams are interested in Xhekaj, it’s because he’s worth something. And that’s true!
Lapierre also explained that he loves Xhekaj’s style because he’s a unique player who offers a set of assets rarely seen in the NHL. He loves his toughness, his skating, his first pass and the way he finds shooting lanes.
Not to mention the fact that he’s a crowd favorite, a valued teammate in the dressing room and an excellent fighter!
To say that Kent Hughes will never trade Xhekaj would be sheer folly, but it’s clear that he possesses interesting value. After an up-and-down season, other teams may have taken the opportunity to try and snap him up at a lower-than-expected price.
In bursts
– Another point for Slafkovsky.
Video zone:
Hudacek puts it over the top; an assist from Juraj Slafkovskyhttps://t.co/7rhwJDXsNV– RDS (@RDSca) May 18, 2024
– The Alouettes are back!
Cody Fajardo just threw the first touchdown of this intra-squad game to Tevin Jones
Incredible day in Saint-Jérôme. What a festival here! Crowd is rocking#Alouettes pic.twitter.com/GiEZR4kwGJ
– Joey Alfieri (@joeyalfieri) May 18, 2024
– A goal from a corner kick!
The #CanPL, Olimpico championship!
Former Whitecaps Vasco Fry pulls a goal straight from the corner. https://t.co/vbtK0pdEfs
– Nilton Jorge (@NiltonJorge) May 18, 2024
– Berube will have to be able to blame his players.
“He’s what they wanted. They wanted somebody that was not gonna be afraid to hold his guys accountable.” @TheFourthPeriod joined #NHLTonight to talk about the @MapleLeafs‘ decision to hire Craig Berube. @keithirizarry | @EJHradek_NHL | #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/BC549uhcch
– NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) May 18, 2024
– Looks good.
What do you think? https://t.co/Bg4zCb7O0K
– Passion MLB (@passion_mlb) May 18, 2024