Last night, Arber Xhekaj abandoned Martin St-Louis.
Usually ready to shake the boards and impose himself physically, Xhekaj remained strangely passive.
And yet, it was not for lack of desire or combativeness, but by choice. Obviously, he wanted to take revenge on the man who never believed in him.
Can we really blame him?
For two years, Xhekaj has always been the one that Martin St-Louis did not hesitate to throw under the bus at the slightest mistake, without ever defending him in the face of criticism.
Rather than protecting its young defender, St-Louis never hesitated to highlight his errors, making him the eternal scapegoat when the team faltered.
Yesterday, when the Canadian was going through a bad patch and needed that spark that could have given a second life to the group, St-Louis was counting on Xhekaj to boost the morale of the troops and shake up the opponent.
But the 23-year-old defender did nothing. He skated close to the walls, dodging any possibility of altercation, staying away from the scrums, as if to subtly signal to his coach that this time, he would not be his “henchman”.
It is clear that Xhekaj has decided to no longer sacrifice himself for a coach who too often left him alone in the face of criticism.
Reactions were quick on social media, where many interpreted this passivity as proof that Xhekaj has had enough of the St. Louis method.
“MSL doesn’t want Xhekaj to brew, so why would he brew to help his coach”
Others see it as a sign that the team itself has failed, as if the players had united in the same feeling of abandonment in the face of a system and a direction in which they no longer believe.
Xhekaj’s lack of life yesterday is a signal that the locker room no longer adheres to the coach’s speeches and expectations.
Xhekaj, by remaining silent and lackluster, sent a clear message.
For him, there is no longer any question of getting into battles to protect a coach who has never taken care to defend him.
The message is now in his actions, or rather in his inaction.
And it seems that the other Canadiens players share this feeling of being tired of having a pee-wee coach, also refusing to fight for a system in which they no longer recognize themselves.
A system that does not exist. Who never existed.
We can call Arber Xhekaj a coward, but that would forget the extent to which he went through a particularly difficult period under the leadership of Martin St-Louis.
Everything indicates that he is starting to have enough of this unfair treatment.
Constantly sidelined and often blamed whenever the team suffered a defeat, it was Xhekaj’s turn to throw his coach under the bus.
Arber Xhekaj has never benefited from the support of his coach, who prefers to blame the team’s failures on him rather than taking responsibility for his own tactical choices.
For St-Louis, Xhekaj has become the easiest lever to appease critics or to hide the weaknesses of a game system that has never worked.
It’s easy to see why Xhekaj wants a change in direction behind the bench. By choosing to remain discreet and avoid physical altercations last night, Xhekaj sent a strong message: he no longer wants to sacrifice himself for a coach who despises him.
St-Louis, often evoking his own experience as a young player cast aside, seems to justify this severity as a sort of “tough school”.
The approach of St-Louis, which claims to want to “build” Xhekaj, begins to appear in the eyes of many supporters as a desire to “break” or wear him down morally.
For CH supporters, Xhekaj’s situation has become a symbol of collective frustration with St-Louis.
The head coach’s decisions are seen as inconsistent, and his “surface” speech no longer manages to hide his contempt for Xhekaj.
If Xhekaj is reduced to tearing down the walls to demonstrate his disagreement, it is because the gap has become deep between him and his trainer.
It makes you wonder who will end up winning this duel: Arber Xhekaj will be traded…or Martin St-Louis will be fired…
Related News :