Habs' Marty St. Louis makes his expectations from Arber Xhekaj extremely clear

By Zachary Roberts

Modified Oct 25, 2024 17:34 GMT

Young Montreal Canadiens star Arber Xhekaj has struggled at times this season. He has slowly fallen out of favor and into trade rumors, where his name consistently pops up. The discussion surrounding him is whether or not his future lies with the team. As for his overall play, Canadiens coach Marty St. Louis was blunt.

"You should be worried about making some mistakes, right?" St. Louis said on Friday, via Priyanta Emrith. "He's not a rookie anymore so you should be 'I gotta be better' very simple. It's not like we nit-pick everything he does but he's gotta be better. I expect Xhekaj to be a better version."

Xhekaj's mistakes are upsetting his coach, who believes he should not be doing things he did as a rookie. He has grown in the NHL, but the mistakes remain.

St. Louis was direct and said that Xhekaj has to be better. The trade rumors that swirl around him will turn into legitimate proposals from other teams if that doesn't happen.

Xhekaj was recently a healthy scratch, signaling that the Habs don't particularly want to play him right now. That, plus his coach's comments, does not bode well for his future with the team.

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NHL analyst predicts trade out of Montreal for Arber Xhekaj

Arber Xhekaj has not quite caught on with the Montreal Canadiens and trade rumors are swirling every day. NHL insider Jean-Charles Lajoie believes his time with the team is nearing its end.

Arber Xhekaj may be traded (Imagn)

He said via the Montreal Journal (translated from French to English):

"Clearly, he hasn't had the start of the season he was hoping for," Lajoie wrote on Tuesday. "Why? Obviously, primarily due to his own mistakes, but it would be simplistic to blame it all on him. He entered the preseason like a bull in rut he wanted to impose his rule he broke everything in his path."

Lajoie doesn't believe the team is happy with Xhekaj's actions. He said he "refuses to drink the Kool-Aid." He also called his actions "not exactly bright" and that those poor decisions also show up on the ice.

"I like Arber a lot, but I am convinced that he is not in the organization's medium-term plans," Lajoie added. "There isn't a player or manager who likes losing a game due to pure and simple acts of indiscipline from one of the team's players."

The NHL trade deadline could see Xhekaj switching teams this year.