PUBLICATION
Leo Honein
March 31, 2026 (10:10 PM)
Photo credit: Screenshot
A post by TVA Sports journalist Anthony Martineau is likely to strongly displease Montreal Canadiens head coach Martin St-Louis.
It concerns Arber Xhekaj’s ice time, as data confirms that his shifts were far too long. That is exactly what Martin St-Louis absolutely hates.
Anthony Martineau shared a very revealing image regarding the usage of number 72 against the Tampa Bay Lightning:
The journalist clearly shows the duration of Xhekaj’s shifts, which were far too long. Certain specific numbers in that chart particularly stand out.
One of Xhekaj’s shifts lasted nearly two minutes.
Martin St-Louis especially hates that kind of energy management from a player, and he has repeated that often.
It is not me criticizing Arber Xhekaj here, but rather my way of “worrying” about how Martin St-Louis is going to react when he sees this.
He will not be happy, and that is not encouraging for all of us who want to see Xhekaj keep his spot in the lineup.
Will Martin St-Louis punish Arber Xhekaj for this poor shift management?
Stretching out shifts is never ideal, and it shows that the player was trapped in his own zone several times.
Xhekaj has just regained his regular spot on the team’s blue line because of the injury suffered by Alexandre Carrier, so he really has to make the most of this opportunity.
Repeating those mistakes could seriously frustrate the coaching staff, and we do not want that!
Getting stuck in your own zone always ends up costing dearly.
Adam Engstrom is still waiting in the stands and watching the situation closely. So this is definitely a situation to monitor!
One thing is certain: the organization has a solid fallback option if Martin St-Louis decides once again to move on from Xhekaj.
Previously on Montreal Hockey Fanatics
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Decisions by Arber Xhekaj in the Lightning game won’t please Martin St-Louis
Rate Xhekaj’s game against the Lightning.