Hockey

Arber Xhekaj could finish the season as the Canadiens’ ninth defenseman, according to Tony Marinaro
DansLesCoulisses.com
Arber Xhekaj could finish the season as the Canadiens’ ninth defenseman, according to Tony Marinaro
Credit: YouTube / Habs

Arber Xhekaj is not having the best season of his career. He has just one point in 20 games and a minus-4 rating.

He seems to fit less and less into the team's plans, and even with Kaiden Guhle's injury, he has to give up his place in the line-up.

On Wednesday night's Sick Podcast, Tony Marinaro analyzed the situation and believes that, with a healthy line-up, Xhekaj could finish the season as the Canadiens' ninth-best defenseman.

It's intense put that way, but it's not crazy.

As Pierre McGuire explained, Jayden Struble has overtaken Xhekaj in the team's defensive hierarchy. With a healthy Guhle, that would make Xhekaj the Canadiens' seventh defenseman for the time being.

Already, that makes him a backup.

But with the recall of Adam Engstrom, who took his place in the lineup last game, that would drop him to eighth among Habs defensemen.

And as Marinaro also explains, if David Reinbacher continues to play well with Laval, he could overtake Xhekaj in the Habs hierarchy by season's end.

As the ninth defenseman, Xhekaj should probably go to Laval. Martin St-Louis wouldn't keep a third backup with the big club. He would have to go through the waivers, however, and we could expect a team to take a chance on him.

Xhekaj's future in Montreal may well depend on how the youngsters perform this season.

And let's not forget that other Canadiens prospects on the blue line aren't yet with the organization, and could come in and cause even more traffic.

We're talking about guys like Owen Protz, Bogdan Konyushkov and Bryce Pickford.

Arber Xhekaj will have to get his game back on track by the end of the season if he wants to stay in the Canadiens organization, otherwise he may no longer be a regular with the team.


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