Martin St-Louis explains his decision to scratch Arber Xhekaj in Utah in favour of Adam Engström
Live from Utah, in the last few minutes, Montreal Canadiens head coach Martin St-Louis sent his message to Arber Xhekaj.
As we reported earlier this Wednesday, St-Louis caused a surprise today by taking Xhekaj out of his lineup and replacing him with young Adam Engström.
Even Engström didn't see it coming.
"Adam Engström said he found out he would be making his NHL debut earlier this morning when he showed up at the rink for the optional pregame skate."
- Priyanta Emrith
- Priyanta Emrith
In short, Martin St-Louis then stepped in front of reporters to explain his decision.
Martin St-Louis sends a message to Arber Xhekaj in front of the media
He made sure to reassure his young defenseman and to send a message to calm things down a bit during his press conference.
Habs coach Marty St. Louis today on Arber Xhekaj being a healthy scratch for Adam Engstrom:
"It's just simple math. We have 6 defensemen and one of them has to be out of the lineup. It's not that Xhekaj isn't playing well, it's really about one player (having to make way)."
- HabsOnReddit
"It's just simple math. We have 6 defensemen and one of them has to be out of the lineup. It's not that Xhekaj isn't playing well, it's really about one player (having to make way)."
- HabsOnReddit
Let's just say the message is clear!
That would explain his decision, or at least, that's how he publicly explained it.
Arber Xhekaj, 24 years old, is a 6-foot-4, 240-pound defenseman with 1 point in 20 games this season, along with a -4 differential and 40 penalty minutes.
Adam Engström, 22 years old, is a 6-foot-2, 198-pound left-shot defenseman, drafted in the 3rd round by the Montreal Canadiens in 2022.
He has 14 points in 18 games this season with the Laval Rocket, along with a +8 differential.
Following this explanation from Martin St-Louis, do you understand his decision to take Xhekaj out in favor of Engström?
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 26 | 1387 ANSWERS Martin St-Louis explains his decision to scratch Arber Xhekaj in Utah in favour of Adam Engström Following this explanation from Martin St-Louis, do you understand his decision to take Xhekaj out in favor of Engström? | ||
| Yes | 521 | 37.6 % |
| No | 866 | 62.4 % |
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