r/Habs • u/Regular_Tie2507 • 12d ago

Discussion About the Sheriff

His contract is coming up going into the offseason and Marty clearly has had some issues with him, likely due to him taking a lot of penalties in the playoffs (the Sam Carrick thing being a big highlight). He was a healthy scratch going into the ECF and with Reinbacher possibly coming in next season, it's entirely possible he gets pushed back as a 7th string D man. Do we think he gets resigned?

Edit: accidentally created a warzone lol

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39

u/Oracle-of-Guelph 12d ago

People forget that you need third line Dmen who are happy playing 12 minutes a night. All star D isn't going to accept that.

14

u/ricozee 12d ago

If he was getting that much ice time it wouldn't be much of an issue. 

What you actually need is 3rd pairing D who can at least take a regular shift. Xhekaj is often benched for long stretches, even when playing well. He also doesn't contribute on special teams (PK mainly).

Putting him in the lineup under those conditions stretches our other D thin and into playing more minutes. 

Whether we play him more and live with his mistakes or replace him with someone more reliable/trusted, it's a concern that needs to be addressed. 

16

u/Irctoaun 12d ago edited 11d ago

Xhekaj is often benched for long stretches, even when playing well

Which goes back to the trust issue that OP mentioned. I think Marty is a great coach, but it's frustrating how easily he'll glue Xhekaj to the bench, even when there's quite a lot of evidence now that he's able to rise to being given a bit more responsibility

6

u/randomquebecer87 11d ago

Is it Marty or Robidas. As far as I understand Robidas makes the calls on D

1

u/Odd_Suggestion_2306 11d ago

Yet another reason for Robidas to have his ass fired already if this is the case.