Elliotte Friedman Makes a Shocking Statement on an Arber Xhekaj Trade: Major Offer Involving a Top-Five Pick May Have Been on the Table
PUBLICATION
Aaron
January 23, 2024 (7:40)
The renowned insider Elliotte Friedman, from Sportsnet, recently reported that immediately after being sent to the Laval Rocket, numerous teams called Kent Hughes to try to make a trade involving Arber Xhekaj.
Kent Hughes turned them all down.
Arber Xhekaj and the Philadelphia Flyers?
In the latest episode of his popular podcast 32 Thoughts, Friedman goes even further.
Here's what he mentioned:
»Friedman talking teams calling Habs about Arber Xhekaj (32TP): "I wouldn't be surprised if Philly was one of those teams, I don't know if it was a (Cutter) Gauthier deal or something else, but it makes a lot of sense. If Xhekaj is not going to be a Canadien, man he's a Flyer"
- Via NHL Watcher
And rest assured, Friedman doesn't just throw this out there casually.
He certainly heard something interesting, behind the scenes, from a general manager or an agent, pointing in this direction.
He really seems to believe that the Philadelphia Flyers would really like to acquire Xhekaj and would pay a high price for him.
It's also very interesting to note that Friedman brings up the name of Cutter Gauthier in the discussion.
Was a trade involving Gauthier and Xhekaj discussed last month between Kent Hughes and Daniel Brière? It seems to be the case.
One can certainly imagine that it wouldn't have been a «one for one» trade, but still! It says a lot about Xhekaj's value in the NHL!
In short, the final verdict is the same.
Kent Hughes does not want to trade Arber Xhekaj! However, it is still interesting to note his extremely high market value.
POLL |
Would you have traded Xhekaj for Gauthier? |
Yes | 173 | 18.5 % |
No | 760 | 81.5 % |
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