Another year, another battle between Arber Xhekaj and Jayden
Struble for a role on the Montreal Canadiens’ third pairing. Both blueliners saw a lot of action
last year thanks to injuries suffered by other members of the defense corps.
Stuble skated in 56 games (just like the previous year) and Xhekaj took part in
70 games (more than he had ever played in a season); the former finished the
regular season in the lineup, while the latter reintegrated the lineup for the
playoffs.
They’re not particularly young anymore. Struble is about to
turn 25, Xhekaj will in January, and they’ve both matured a lot playing-wise. It’s
been clear since before the start of camp that Lane Hutson, Kaiden Guhle, Mike
Matheson, Noah Dobson, and Alex Carrier all have their chair reserved, which
leaves just one spot for the other two.
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Stuble hasn’t had a bad training camp, but Xhekaj turned up
at camp in much better shape. He’s still as heavy as he was, but the baby fat
is gone, and it’s now all muscle. It shows on the ice that he skates faster,
and his mobility has improved.
Much like Juraj Slafkovsky knows he needs to play a good
physical game to be effective, Xhekaj knows that he needs to pick his moments
on the ice. He needs to play the game that’s in front of him, despite the
constant temptation of chasing that one big hit or of dropping the gloves. What
the Canadiens have on their hands right now is a leaner and wiser Xhekaj. He
doesn’t need to be meaner; he has always been mean enough.
Since the start of camp, Xhekaj is the one who has taken the
spotlight, be it because of that one game in which both he and his brother
played and scored, or because of the hard hits he’s able to land. On Saturday
night in Toronto, he was playing alongside Carrier once again, as he has since
the start of camp, whether in preseason games or scrimmages. Furthermore,
Xhekaj also had an A on his jersey.
At a time when Martin St-Louis says his team needs some grit
and sandpaper, Xhekaj is the logical choice. The Canadiens need to commit to Xhekaj
because if they don’t and he lands somewhere else, he will hurt them. Perhaps
not on the scoreboard, but physically. The Canadiens have long sought toughness
in their lineup, and now that they have it, they shouldn’t be afraid of it.
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