Former Montreal Canadiens player and current host at BPM Sports, Georges Laraque, shared quite an interesting piece of information regarding Arber Xhekaj and Martin St-Louis.
It is known that St-Louis hasn’t always been a fan of the “mood swings” of the “Sheriff,” if we may call him that, and it’s also known that he hasn’t always appreciated Arber Xhekaj to his full value (at least in our opinion).
It’s worth noting that the Canadiens’ head coach didn’t seem pleased at all with Xhekaj’s actions last Saturday against Toronto Maple Leafs forward Cédric Paré.
He was very cold during the press conference on that topic.
However, as reported by Maxime Truman in his latest piece, and according to information from Georges Laraque, Martin St-Louis has completely changed his philosophy.
Martin St-Louis has changed his opinion on Arber Xhekaj and now wants a tougher team, according to Georges Laraque
To avoid misrepresenting his words, here is the exact quote.
«Georges Laraque shared a little scoop yesterday during my segment on the Laraque – Gonzalez show. According to Georges, Martin St-Louis realized that his team has been pushed around too much since the start of the preseason and reportedly told the players – particularly Arber Xhekaj – that he approved of what Xhekaj did to defend his teammates during the last two games.
It’s a 180-degree turn!» – Maxime Truman
This is indeed a major turnaround and quite a shift in philosophy from MSL.
We highly recommend reading the full article: The Canadiens might be shopping for a tough forward to complete their “bottom 6”.
This explains everything.
Martin St-Louis admits that a tougher team is necessary, and therefore, management wants to add another rugged forward to protect the team’s top players.
Clearly, they’re all fed up with injuries and questionable hits.
They want more players who command respect, particularly to support Arber Xhekaj in his role.
Yes, management has realized just how important toughness still is in the NHL of 2024-2025.
Don’t be surprised if an acquisition in this direction is announced sooner rather than later.
