Montreal Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj has been in and out of the lineup this season, and with Noah Dobson's injury, he's getting an opportunity in the playoffs to show that he should be in the Canadiens' future plans. His contract runs out at the end of the season, meaning it's now or never...
Getting Martin St-Louis to reveal his lineup in the last few days of the season has not been an easy task; in fact, the Montreal Canadiens’ coach even asked journalists if anyone had good questions to ask him the last time he was asked. On Thursday, however, with the playoffs fast-approaching, when he was asked if blueliner Arber Xhekaj had shown him enough to earn the right to start the series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the bench boss was clear:
Yes, I believe he has. He has played good hockey, played physically, and stuck to his identity. He had good reps down the stretch. Of course, we lost Dobber [Noah Dobson], which allowed him to get more minutes, and I liked what I saw.
For the 25-year-old who will be a restricted free agent this summer, this is a big opportunity. He’s been involved in a duel with Jayden Struble for the last three seasons, with both players trying to earn a regular spot as the Canadiens’ sixth defenseman, but neither has been able to grab the job and keep it. Now, with other blueliners like David Reinbacher and Adam Engstrom knocking on the Canadiens’ door, Xhekaj and Struble may be running out of time.
While there’s no denying that the youngsters bring more raw talent, the gritty defender brings something to the table that none of the other three players have: a lot of physicality and a knack for fighting.
Last season, when the Canadiens started their series against the Washington Capitals, they did it without the hard-nosed blueliner, but this year, Dobson’s injury has given him an in. As long as he can make the right reads on the ice and not take himself out of the play by over-committing to land a big hit rather than play the game that’s in front of him, Xhekaj should be fine.
Xhekaj is built for playoff hockey, but not for the kind of system Martin St-Louis has his men playing. Still, over the last four years, he has had the opportunity to learn what the coach expects of his players and to work on his reads. Now, it’s time for him to show that he can use the knowledge he gathered when it really counts, not only for the team, but for his own future in the Canadiens organization.
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