Arber Xhekaj played 1:52 in Game 7 against the Buffalo Sabres. I heard an NHL analyst say it was really wrong what they did with Arber. Your Hockey Inside/Out Show partner Rick Green has sung Arber’s praises and so has Aaron Ward on TSN 690 Radio. Two NHL veteran defencemen and Stanley Cup winners like Arber’s skill set, so why doesn’t St. Louis?
Deke Rivers on X — @OLearyO
I think St. Louis appreciates Xhekaj’s unique skill set with his size and physicality, but the coach still doesn’t have confidence in the 6-foot-4, 240-pounder’s defensive game — especially when the score is close.
St. Louis likes to rotate his top five defenceman and pick his spots with whoever the sixth defenceman is — whether it’s Xhekaj or Jayden Struble.
“I think we’ve done it all year,” St. Louis said about maximizing his top five on defence. “When we’re healthy, I think everybody knows how we want to roll out. They’re all important; they have different roles. Their starts on the ice on faceoffs are not the same. We try to maximize everybody’s strength as much as we can.
“We roll five a lot — and whether it’s (Xhekaj) or Strubs, they’re giving us some really good minutes, too,” St. Louis added. “So they’re not uncomfortable the way we’re running it and I think doing that in the regular season, at a certain point in time when we were healthy, I think it definitely helps.”
Struble didn’t play at all in the seven games against the Buffalo Sabres and replaced Xhekaj in the lineup for Game 1 against the Carolina Hurricanes, logging 14:10 of ice time and finishing plus-2. Struble had only 5:06 of ice time in Game 7 against the Tampa Lightning, the last time he had played.
St. Louis has more confidence in Struble’s defensive game, but also understands Xhekaj can bring a huge physical presence when he’s in the lineup. What can happen sometimes with Xhekaj (and Struble to a lesser extent) is that he’ll sit for a long time — especially in a game where there are a lot of penalties — and then it gets to a point where it’s not really fair or smart to him to throw him back out on the ice with cold, stiff legs.
“It is about stacking up his actions throughout his shifts,” St. Louis said when asked what Xhekaj needs to do when he’s in the lineup. “Whether it was a good shift or a bad shift, it is about what is next. You cannot fluctuate mentally because of either side of that — just stay the course and focus on the next action. I think when he does that, he is great. If he keeps simplicity in his game and defends hard, he is great.”
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I know he doesn’t get the recognition that Lane Hutson gets, but don’t you think that Kaiden Guhle has evolved into a top-four defenceman? He has been so good in these playoffs. I see him evolving into a Jaccob Slavin type defenceman. I’d like your thoughts.
Sheri Taylor
It can be easy to forget Guhle is only 24 and still developing after missing 120 games over his first four seasons in the NHL with a variety of injuries.
We’re seeing in the playoffs what a healthy Guhle can do — and his game was built for the playoffs.
Guhle had nine assists in 39 regular-season games and he already has seven assists in 15 playoff games to go along with a plus-2 while averaging 20:53 of ice time per game. Guhle’s 44 hits in the playoffs rank second on the team, one behind Xhekaj, and his 31 blocked shots rank third on the team behind Mike Matheson (40) and Alexandre Carrier (38).
Guhle says he likes to be “a prick” to play against — which works well in the playoffs.
“I like getting in guys’ faces, pissing guys off,” he said. “I like when the other team’s yelling at me and kind of giving me s—. I feel like if teams aren’t doing that to me in a game, I feel like I’m not really doing my job. It’s fun being in the fire. It gets you into the game.
“I want other teams’ players to be playing the Habs and think: We got to play this guy and this guy and this D corps,” Guhle added. “That’s like a pride thing, I guess, more than anything. It’s fun to be like that.”
Guhle is showing he can be a very solid top-four defenceman — if he can stay healthy. There are definitely similarities to Slavin’s game with the Hurricanes.
Former Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin made a smart decision when he selected Guhle with the 16th overall pick at the 2020 NHL Draft.
Tough night for Andersen: Montreal Canadiens’ Juraj Slafkovsky scores a goal against Frederik Andersen of the Carolina Hurricanes during the third period. Bruce Bennett / Getty Images
A couple of questions for Habs Mailbag.
First: The Canadiens call up four players from Laval for the rest of the playoffs, but why isn’t Rocket coach Pascal Vincent asked to join the Canadiens staff as an “eye in the press box” and help with practices? Does he not deserve some respect by the organization? Also, what is his status for next year? Still the Rocket head coach, a promotion to the Canadiens staff or leaving for a new organization?
Second: A lot of readers don’t like Joe Veleno. But since he’s only 26 and can become a restricted free agent on July 1, why would the Habs not re-sign a player who now knows what his role is and in a tight dressing room is a valuable player and a young veteran who is a big body and proved he can kill penalties and be physical?
Jon Marshall, Brockville, Ont.
To answer your first question, Vincent has been in the press box for Canadiens games at the Bell Centre since the Rocket was eliminated from the AHL playoffs. A coaching staff has a chemistry behind the bench, so the Canadiens aren’t going to add Vincent behind the bench for the playoffs when he hasn’t been there all season. Vincent still has one more season left on his contract, so unless another NHL team offers him a coaching job, I expect him to be back with Laval next season after doing an outstanding job in his first two years developing the Canadiens’ young prospects while also winning games.
As for your second question, Veleno has been a good fit with the Canadiens this season after signing a one-year, US$900,000 contract as a free agent. He understands his role and has been a great teammate while also gaining the confidence of St. Louis with his defensive game and physicality.
“He’s played with some jam and he’s played with a lot of details defensively,” St. Louis said about Veleno. “He’s been very noticeable, disruptive and he’s been really good.
“I think he’s had a really good year in terms of, I wouldn’t say recreating himself, but probably having a switch in how he sees his game to have an impact and be in the lineup. Being a high draft pick in Detroit (30th overall at the 2018 NHL Draft) probably came in as an offensive player and stuff and I feel like he walked in here and realized those chairs are taken, how can I be valuable to a team? And I feel like he’s had an understanding of what kind of identity he needs to grab right now and he’s done that.
“He’s done that with an unbelievable attitude and that’s why some of these guys extend their careers, have long careers, because they have awareness of what’s going on and how they need to adapt and he’s done that,” St. Louis added. “And he’s done that with an unbelievable attitude and I feel like I know exactly what I’m getting when he comes in. For a coach that you can trust players like that and they can fill a role, it’s a plus.”
It will be interesting to see if the Canadiens look to re-sign Veleno this summer. I don’t think they would want one of their young players to be the 13th forward next season, watching many games from the press box, but Veleno has shown this season that he can handle that role and play well when called upon. He also enjoys playing in his home town, so I think it would be worth trying to keep him.
That’s called the Happy Dance: Cole Caufield of the Montreal Canadiens celebrates after scoring a goal the Carolina Hurricanes during the first period. Bruce Bennett / Getty Images
Because Montreal’s rebuild is ahead of schedule, does Michael Hage or Alexander Zharovsky become expendable to get a bona fide No. 2 centreman? Not suggesting either prospect be traded, just asking if their playoff success this year changes things.
Drew Mersereau
That’s a good question.
You have to give up something to get something and I’m sure other teams will be asking Canadiens GM Kent Hughes about Hage and Zharovsky this summer in trade talks.
The Canadiens’ window of opportunity to win a Stanley Cup has opened much quicker than anyone — including Hughes — could have expected. They are only seven wins away from winning the Stanley Cup this year. So at this point, I think it’s possible Hughes would be willing to trade young prospects like Hage and Zharovsky.
If the Canadiens can land a No. 2 centre, you have to think the other team would want a young centre like Hage in return, making him more likely to be moved than Zharovsky, who is a winger.
Do you think the Habs will try to trade Sam Montembeault and Patrik Laine in the summer?
Kyle M Tilley on X — @Kmtilley1
They will definitely trade Montembeault since they are set in goal for the future with Jakub Dobes, 24, and Jacob Fowler, 21. Montembeault, 29, has one season left on his contract with a very reasonable US$3.15 million salary-cap hit and I don’t thing Hughes will have a problem trading him.
As for Laine, he becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1, so he can sign with any NHL team — and it won’t be the Canadiens.
Who on the current team do you expect the Canadiens to lose this off-season?
Archibald Bunker on X — @meathead13234
Montembeault and Laine are at the top of that list.
I also don’t expect Brendan Gallagher to be back. He’s going to want to play — not sit in the press box — and the Canadiens no longer have a spot for the 34-year-old, as we’ve seen in the playoffs with him playing only three games. Gallagher has one season left on his contract with a US$6.5 million salary-cap hit.
If Hughes can’t trade Gallagher — which seems unlikely — I expect the Canadiens will buy out the last year of his contract, which would cost the team US$3.833 million on the salary cap next season and US$1.333 million the following season. That would also make Gallagher a free agent and allow him to see if another team has interest in him at a much lower salary.
It’s going to be interesting to see what happens with Xhekaj, who can become a restricted free agent on July 1. With David Reinbacher and Adam Engstrom both looking to make the jump from Laval to the Canadiens next season, there might not be a spot for Xhekaj.
Other NHL teams would definitely have interest in Xhekaj and also be able to offer him more ice time.
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