This morning, Arber Xhekaj was literally demolished in the mainstream media.
The journalists’ words are harsh, but striking. In the end, they are right.
No, Xhekaj is not the sharpest pencil in the box.
Indeed, after his vicious hit on Tim Stützle, Xhekaj not only put his team in a precarious situation, but also revealed a persistent inability to control his emotions on the ice.
The reality is merciless: Xhekaj does not seem to learn from his mistakes.
While the defender tried to avenge Kirby Dach, victim of a questionable shot from Ridly Greig, he chose his target poorly by attacking Stützle and coming close to a potentially dangerous move.
As Bernier wrote, if Xhekaj had hit Stützle head-on, the German forward would probably still be lying on the ice.
St-Louis, visibly exasperated, tried to defend Xhekaj at a press conference, but his words no longer seem to convince many people, not even his own players.
Xhekaj’s disastrous cerebral performance in the last two games, with 44 minutes of accumulated penalties and repeated expulsions, only reinforces the idea that Xhekaj has no place in a locker room led by a coach who preaches intelligence play and discipline.
But the most surprising yesterday was when Martin St-Louis tried to make the journalists present believe that it was a “hockey game”.
Pardon?
So, Cédric Paré’s hit against Patrik Laine was horrible, but Xhekaj trying to tear off Tim Stützle’s head is a “hockey play”?
Several journalists criticized the promotion of violence that St. Louis seems to tolerate at press conferences.
From the Journal de Montréal to La Presse via 98.5 FM, everyone saw that St-Louis repeated more than once that for him, Xhekaj’s blow was not so serious.
The discomfort between Martin St-Louis and a journalist during the press conference after the game against the Senators was obvious.
While the Canadiens head coach tried to minimize the impact of Arber Xhekaj’s gesture, he seemed more and more isolated in his defense of the player.
St-Louis, visibly under pressure, declared:
“I don’t believe he was trying to hurt Stützle because they hurt Dach,” seeking to convince that Xhekaj was just playing his usual role as a goon defender.
St-Louis’ tone suggested a desire to protect his player, but the uneasiness escalated when the journalist, obviously shocked, asked him if he really believed that Xhekaj would have attempted this check if Ridly Greig had not injured Kirby Dach earlier in the match.
The response from St-Louis was a simple “Yes”, without really convincing the audience present.
He then added that if it had been a smaller defender who had attempted the same move, no one would have talked about it. This rather clumsy comment was intended to show the physical nature of Xhekaj’s game, but it fell flat.
The journalists in the room clearly saw the seriousness of the incident.
The discomfort was obvious. The coach, despite his experience as a player, sometimes seems disconnected from reality when it comes to defending his players in such delicate situations.
Xhekaj’s gesture, even if it did not hit Tim Stützle head-on, could have had dramatic consequences.
Stützle still suffered a nose injury and did not return to the game (upper body injury).
If Xhekaj had hit him with more force, the Senators player could have left the ice on a stretcher, as another reporter pointed out.
By trying to put the incident into perspective, St. Louis has unintentionally shown that the team tolerates dangerous and unpredictable behavior, which does nothing to help restore order in the locker room.
The fact that he justified the attack by Xhekaj’s physique also shows an attempt to divert the conversation to technical aspects, but this only amplified the perception that the coach lost control over some of his actions. players.
This scene, as uncomfortable as it was, revealed another problem: St. Louis finds itself in a position where it must defend the indefensible. This is not the first time Xhekaj has had success, and his impulsive behavior on the ice is starting to create a real credibility problem for the coach.
When looking at the whole situation, it becomes clear that St. Louis, despite his efforts to maintain control of the discourse, is having difficulty hiding his frustration and embarrassment at the repeated actions of his defender.
The question remains: How much longer can St. Louis continue to justify Xhekaj’s mistakes before the situation explodes?
He must be tired of constantly being in hot water because of his defender.
The Toronto media did not fail to react to Martin St-Louis’ comments, adding an additional layer to the controversy.
Toronto journalists quickly took the opportunity to denounce what they perceive as hypocrisy on the part of the Montreal Canadiens.
Indeed, while the CH had strongly complained about the blow from Cédric Parésur Patrik Laine, openly criticizing the aggressiveness of the Leafs, it seems that the organization is much more tolerant when it comes to the violence coming from its own players.
The Toronto media picked up the statements from St-Louis, who tried to minimize Arber Xhekaj’s gesture, by highlighting this blatant contradiction.
For them, it is clear that the Canadian is playing on two sides: on the one hand, they condemn brutality when it suits them, but on the other, they try to justify the violent actions of their own players.
This inconsistency was particularly highlighted by Toronto columnists, who did not hesitate to point out this double standard.
This is not the first time that tensions between Montreal and Toronto have been amplified by incidents of this type, but this time, St. Louis’ clumsy defense gave even more fodder to its detractors.
St-Louis finds itself caught in a media storm…all because of Arber Xhekaj.
He must be as tired as ever.
