He might not have the same value, but i don't think MTL move him unless they get a similar return they got for Romanov.

With the way the habs love him, you'll be paying about as much as Canadians pay the phone/internet oligopoly of Rogers, Bell, and Telus here - long winded way for saying waaayyyy to much

I’m obviously biased but I think he’s an untouchable right now. His ceiling is undefined. He has a great shot from the point so who knows if he caps out at 6 goals per year or can become a 20g defenseman (he had 6g in 18 OHL playoff games so the potential is there). He can make the first dangle and his passing ability is good albeit not great, but all in all extremely effective. His size is obviously his biggest asset. A unicorn in the NHL right now. All enforcers in the NHL are forwards who play 6 to 12 mins a game. Arber has top 4 potential which means he is on the ice 20-22 mins per game. He doesn’t have a NHL playoff game under his belt yet but what team wouldn’t want this kid on their team battling it in the playoffs for them.

Xhekaj’s biggest weakness is he takes a lot of penalties. He’s not just racking up minutes for fighting but he’s taking a lot of minor penalties. I don’t think this is a part of his game that he will be able to clean up fully and I think he will continue to take a lot of penalties even if not as much as he does now. But imagine he is able to keep up with the smaller players’ speed… Arber’s ceiling would be through the roof.

There’s no team willing to offer a fair value package relative to Xhekaj’s ceiling right now. It would have to be an overpayment but what GM would be willing to offer that much. It’s all risk and at best you break even.

And before I forget, this is a really good kid. Very humble coming from parents with an immigrant background. Extremely hard working and very likeable in the room. He may very well be close to his peak as a #5 defenseman but given his age of 21, turning 22 in January, have to think that he becomes a unicorn (due to his massive size) top 4D who can play PP and PK. He takes a lot of penalties and is not a shutdown defenseman, but he is more than capable to play top minutes, and can put up 35-40pts, including 17-20 goals per year. A true beast in the playoffs!

Habs fans chronically overrate their own guys. Dude is playing 14 minutes a night on a pretty mediocre Habs defense. Fans probably need to pump the brakes on him becoming a top 4 shutdown/PK specialist. Hell, he’s getting 0:11 seconds of PK time per game this season. And sheltered O zone deployment.

He’s a big and fun to watch but realistically the dude is an AHL/NHL tweener on most teams in the league.

i see him as a bottom pairing LD playing 14-16 minutes a night. maybe tops out at 15-20pts a year, if that, with his shot. his intangibles however I love, such as his energy, his presence, his hits, his fights.