The Montreal Canadiens defenseman wrote another chapter of the best story of the young season with the first goal of his NHL career on Saturday.
![Montreal Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj celebrates with his teammates after scoring his first career NHL goal in the second period against the Dallas Stars at the Bell Center on Saturday October 22, 2022.](https://oponame.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Jack-Todd-Xhekaj-holds-the-password-to-more-than-a.jpg)
Content of the article
Well, at least we have Wifi.
Advertisement 2
Content of the article
On a night when the Canadiens were blasted by a pretty good Dallas team, Arber Xhekaj, the guy they call Wifi, wrote another chapter in the best story of the young season with the first goal of his career.
Content of the article
The goal also capped a brilliant week for the undrafted 21-year-old defender. He recorded his first assist, becoming the youngest undrafted Canadiens defenseman to score a point. He had seven hits against the Stars and a nice backhand pass that led to Mike Hoffman’s goal.
He also beat Habs veteran and NHL veteran Zack Kassian when the Canadiens beat the Coyotes on Thursday night. The only time Kassian was beaten worse in Montreal was the night of seven years ago, when his truck hit a tree.
Advertisement 3
Content of the article
(Like everyone else, former heavyweight champion Chris Nilan loves the kid — but Nilan is right when he says Xhekaj doesn’t have to perform in front of the crowd after winning a fight.)
With his teammates calling him Wi-Fi, Xhekaj also represents a major improvement in the Canadiens’ nickname game. He leads a parade of exciting young players who deserve a nickname – like Filip “Tape” Mesar, “Fast Lane” Hutson and Owen “Hunt And” Beck. Xhekaj even has a good backup nickname: before Wifi landed and got stuck, reader Brady Moffatt had suggested Scrabble, based on the fact that the great defender’s last name is worth 27 points in letter value alone .
But Wifi is the best nickname for a Canadiens defenseman since Douglas “Crankshaft” Murray. Crankshaft could hit too, but it took less time for Xhekaj to beat Kassian than it took for Murray to skate across the ice. The rookie can skate, fight, hit and play and getting him out of the lineup will be as difficult as moving him on the ice.
Advertisement 4
Content of the article
This represents the biggest problem Canadians have: youth depth. The pipeline is deeper than it has been since the 1993 Stanley Cup. It doesn’t solve the power play problem or Kirby Dach’s face-off struggles, but it all has to start with talent .
This team has talent, and with the draft picks they have, it’s only going to get better. It doesn’t matter what nicknames they have.
-
Jack Todd: Hockey Canada could only delay the inevitable for so long
-
Jack Todd: Martin St. Louis is the coach the Canadiens need right now
-
More Jack Todd Chronicles
Young Sheldon got it right
Sheldon Keefe is saddled with a bunch of talented prima donnas in Toronto and unless the day comes when he’s allowed to tear them apart without having to backtrack on his comments, the Leafs will never reach the promised land.
Advertisement 5
Content of the article
That’s fine with me, but this band could use a three-year-old dose of vintage Pat Burns that blues the walls with well-deserved profanity. Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner & Co. will kill a lot of coaches before they’re done, especially if the coaches aren’t allowed to speak.
Drouin still does not
If things don’t change soon, Martin St. Louis will have to give up Jonathan Drouin — and that’s a shame. Drouin just can’t find the “on” switch when he’s in the lineup. He plays a soft, hesitant and uninvolved game.
The problem must be trust. Drouin is too talented to play the way he does, but the long-term wrist injury coupled with his personal struggles may be too much for him to overcome. If he could believe in himself, the rest would follow – and if he can’t, it will be a loss not only for the Canadians, but for the game itself.
Advertising 6
Content of the article
Lies, rumors &&&& vicious insinuations
Once again, Sunday games and deadlines reduce us to the role of cheerleaders for Wilfried Nancy and CF Montreal. New York City will be the toughest challenge yet, but it says here that the club will keep rolling, so if they fail, don’t blame me – blame the crystal ball. …
We here at Monday Morning Quarterback Central still see no reason to believe the 8-9 Alouettes wouldn’t have done at least as well with Khari Jones as coach. It was an unnecessary and unfair dismissal, and nothing less than a Gray Cup win as a loser will absolve Danny Maciocia on that point. …
If deliberately swinging a stick high at an opponent isn’t worth more than a one-game regular-season suspension (hello, Evgeny Kuznetsov), then George Parros and the Department of Player Safety might as well shut it down because they are totally useless. …
Advertising 7
Content of the article
Brendan Gallagher has to buy some luck. …
Hockey has had its problems with terrible owners, and there are still a few, like Chicago’s Rocky Wirtz and Edmonton’s Daryl Katz. But Daniel Snyder of the Washington Commanders is in league with Jeffrey Loria and Harold Ballard. It’s not getting worse.
Hero: Juraj Slafkovsky, Kaiden Guhle, Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Martin St. Louis, Félix Auger-Aliassime, Wilfried Nancy &&&& last but not least, Arber “Wifi” Xhekaj.
Zeros: George Parros, Hockey Canada, Scott Smith, Ron MacLean, Canada Soccer, Alexander Ovechkin, Daniel Snyder, Tom Brady, Claude Brochu, David Samson &&&& last but not least, Jeffrey Loria.
Now and forever.
Check out our sports section for the latest news and analysis. Fancy a bet? Visit our sports betting section for news and odds.
#Jack #Todd #Xhekaj #holds #password #set #nicknames #Habs