When a drunk fan asked Kent Hughes why Arber Xhekaj isn’t playing

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
When a drunk fan asked Kent Hughes why Arber Xhekaj isn’t playing
Credit: Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images

Last night, Tony Marinaro posted an interview with Kent Hughes.

It was interesting to see the GM in this kind of setting. Hughes, who opened up about Juraj Slafkovsky's development, seemed at ease on the Sick Podcast.

Here's the interview, for those interested.

What stood out to me, in particular, was the anecdote the GM shared at the end of the podcast about a fan who came up to him to ask about Arber Xhekaj.

Basically, Hughes recounts that while he was with Jeff Gorton in public, a fan who had had one too many drinks approached him to ask why Arber Xhekaj wasn't playing.

The GM said there was less security around him at that moment since security is reduced when Martin St-Louis leaves.

The fan questioned the GM in French, which meant that Jeff Gorton didn't fully understand what was going on at the time it happened.

But what does Hughes think about this, in the end? I'm talking about Xhekaj here, not the fan who approached him.

Obviously, Kent Hughes pointed out that it was his coach who made the decisions (he couldn't throw St-Louis under the bus, regardless of his opinion on the matter), but the fan had his own idea in mind.

In the playoffs, the Capitals really shook things up.

It's pretty crazy for the GM to say that publicly, isn't it? 

Hughes pointed out that Carolina went on to beat the Capitals in the second round without any big, physical guys and gave other examples like that afterward.

I didn't see Washington intimidate Carolina the way they did in our series. – Kent Hughes

His point, basically, is to remind us that there's no perfect formula. He says his team's inexperience was also a factor that influenced the Caps' style of play last year.

Hughes didn't emphasize the Canadiens' lack of physical play as much as he did the team's inexperience. He sees it all as a playoff mentality.

Does it reassure you to hear the Habs' GM not openly say he wants more grit, especially since he's leaving a player like Samuel Blais in the minors?

And do you think Arber Xhekaj feels wanted this morning? Hearing his GM speak this way shows, in my view, that WiFi is more likely than ever to leave this summer.


Extension

– Note that during the interview, Adam Nicholas was praised by the GM. His contribution is significant.

– What really happened at the trade deadline last month?

– Every player's development is different. Kent Hughes spoke about Juraj Slafkovsky and David Reinbacher, who didn't follow the same path to development.

– Shea Weber has always believed in Nick Suzuki.

– Lane Hutson and Ivan Demidov are still studying the game. No surprise there, but the GM acknowledged it.

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