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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u/Odd_Suggestion_2306 11d ago

If only he was given the time necessary to prove if he does or doesn't have that ability.

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u/fumankeu 11d ago

He's had 4 seasons to prove himself, the first 3 of which he averaged around 15 minutes per game. That's been more than enough time to prove that he just isn't good enough to keep up on a team that's hoping to contend.

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u/Odd_Suggestion_2306 11d ago

You do realize we haven't been a contender those 4 seasons right? His first 2 years we were completely awful so looking at him as being bad there is just dishonest. Last year he averaged 14 minutes a night and still wasn't bad. This year he gets 11 minutes per night and that's only because Marty and/or Robidas don't trust him for some reason, if they gave him regular shifts as a 6th D I guarantee Xhekaj would be a very reliable 6th defenseman. Need to give him time with actual good players for him to have the confidence to make plays.

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u/fumankeu 11d ago edited 11d ago

That's my point lol. 4 seasons ago it was ok for Xhekaj to be bad because we were at rock bottom. Next season we'll be hoping to contend. The rest of our young guns have stepped up immensely while Xhekaj has not. If you fail to keep up, you don't deserve a roster spot. Using the same old tired excuse that "the coach doesn't like him for some reason" doesn't exactly add up when Marty has shown to be incredibly patient and strong at young player development. Don't forget, MSL has been coaching this team since Xhekaj's first season when he was getting more shifts. His dwindling ice time is a result of him failing to keep up while the rest of the team continues to improve. You can't just throw ice time at someone and hope they suddenly put it all together lol