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Martin St-Louis Reveals Truth About Arber Xhekaj and Sends Strong Message to Kent Hughes
Photo credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images
For some time now, there have been rumors linking Nicolas Hague to the Montreal Canadiens.
The Vegas Golden Knights defenseman is reportedly of great interest to Kent Hughes, according to several insiders. Arber Xhekaj's name has been tied to those same rumors.
Since Hague and Xhekaj play a similar style, one might assume that the arrival of the big left-handed defenseman in Montreal would mark the end of the Sheriff's time with the Canadiens.
However, it appears Martin St-Louis holds his defenseman in much higher regard than some might think.
Martin St-Louis reveals what he really thinks of Arber Xhekaj
During an episode of the Missin Curfew podcast, the Canadiens' head coach praised Xhekaj, saying he's much more than just a physical player and is essential to the team's success.
Wow!
"He can do way more than just fight. They call him the Sheriff in Montreal. He's very good at that but there are a lot of other stuff that he's very good at as well.
I think as a defenseman, especially a young defenseman, the hardest part in the league is just defending.. You forget that he's still very young and he's gonna keep improving."
"Alone without his toughness, and obviously he can fight, but take that out of the equation, he's still a very young, promising defenseman. If he has to fight he will but he's learned to pick his spots.. He's a lot of fun to coach too."
- Habs coach Marty St. Louis on Arber Xhekaj
I think as a defenseman, especially a young defenseman, the hardest part in the league is just defending.. You forget that he's still very young and he's gonna keep improving."
"Alone without his toughness, and obviously he can fight, but take that out of the equation, he's still a very young, promising defenseman. If he has to fight he will but he's learned to pick his spots.. He's a lot of fun to coach too."
- Habs coach Marty St. Louis on Arber Xhekaj
If Kent Hughes was thinking about trading Xhekaj, let's just say Martin St-Louis sent a strong message-possibly to change his mind.
Even though Xhekaj missed a few games last season and in the playoffs, he remains a key piece of Montreal's defensive core.
So why was he scratched?
Martin St-Louis explained that what really happened is he didn't want to change a winning lineup and wanted Xhekaj to use those games from the press box as a learning experience.
The two maintained great communication throughout the process. Wow!
That said, Xhekaj will need to double his efforts at the next training camp because with Lane Hutson, Kaiden Guhle, Mike Matheson, and Jayden Struble all on the left side, his spot among the six regulars is far from guaranteed.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 21 | 2164 ANSWERS Martin St-Louis Reveals Truth About Arber Xhekaj and Sends Strong Message to Kent Hughes Will Arber Xhekaj start the 2025-2026 season as one of the Canadiens' six regular defensemen? | ||
| Yes | 1775 | 82 % |
| No | 389 | 18 % |
| List of polls | ||
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