It appears that Arber Xhekaj’s hold on a consistent blue-line position with the Montreal Canadiens is getting weaker with each passing day.
Habs supporters cannot overlook a statement that Pierre McGuire made this week on the Toronto Sports Rush show.
Kent Hughes is about to follow Toronto’s lead, he said, comparing the Canadiens directly to the Maple Leafs.
“The Canadiens are going to make a few changes, just like the Maple Leafs did.” McGuire is the one who says that word-for-word.
Without mentioning a player. zero place. No schedule. even if he confesses Detroit is no longer one of them, it’s just a statement from a guy who still has powerful contacts in Montreal.
Hughes has been silent the entire summer. Since June, there has been little movement on the Canadiens roster, with the exception of trading Brendan Gallagher.
The stillness of the area was the exact reason McGuire’s statement struck home. This club requires a top-six scorer rather than more depth.
The trade buzz is dominated by Matthew Knies and Kirill Marchenko.
Names such as Matthew Knies and Kirill Marchenko have been associated with the Canadiens throughout the summer. Neither is a depth item.
There is already a tonne of assistance from the bottom six for Hughes. Montreal truly needs a player who can immediately fit into the top two lines and is a proven scorer.
Therefore, what does that mean for Arber Xhekaj? He had a cap hit of $1,300,000, a minus-8 rating, and 4 points in 65 games last season.
These are the statistics of a player that has been made obsolete. His usage reflects Martin St-Louis’s recent lack of faith in him.
Xhekaj is the sort of player that would be included to help the finances work if Montreal bundles picks or futures for a scoring winger. It’s not a reach. The logical conclusion is this.
But it’s all about the timing. Now, a prominent analyst is predicting a shift, along with a GM who has been strangely quiet and a defenseman on the roster bubble.
McGuire didn’t identify anybody. This causes every Canadiens supporter to gaze at Xhekaj’s spot on the roster and wonder if this is the summer it will finally disappear.
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