His age would put him in the 2019 draft class, so it's still impressive. Many NHLers are NHLers because their team lacked talent and it allowed them to see NHL ice. Think Jacob Middleton who was looking like a career AHLer and probably never would have been called up if not for the Sharks blueline. 5 goals, 12 points, positive goal differential on that bad team isn't worthy of a "career 7th D" label. Thats macdermid or borowiecki. I disagree with the value above whatsoever

He is the 6th youngest dmen to be a nhl regular this year. The average draft position of everyone younger than him is 9th overall.

The thing is that there is going to be a one year gap between when Skjei goes to UFA and when Nikishin is ready for the NHL. How do you bridge that? Either through a trade like this or a one year UFA stopgap. The question is what options are going to be available that offseason and which one is willing to sign for only one year (especially one that can give comparable production)?

I never realized that. It's actually crazy.

This is why the doubters look so stupid.

Everyone younger them him is projected to be a franchise dmen. Several of the guys OLDER than him are projected to be franchise/top pairing guys. Yet he is apparently the ONLY ONE who has no growth in his game. Its garbage that reeks of jealousy.

This is why the doubters look so stupid.

Everyone younger them him is projected to be a franchise dmen. Several of the guys OLDER than him are projected to be franchise/top pairing guys. Yet he is apparently the ONLY ONE who has no growth in his game. Its garbage that reeks of jealousy.

I disagree that it's a hard pass though. Nikishin isn't just a random throw-in. He's legit but remains a question mark due to his contract status in the KHL. I'd want Montréal to hold onto Xhekaj as long as it's reasonable to do so, but if something above is proposed they have to take it IMO. I'm looking at the Predators who could have had a haul for Jeannot last year and is now looking like a one-year wonder.

This is why the doubters look so stupid.

Everyone younger them him is projected to be a franchise dmen. Several of the guys OLDER than him are projected to be franchise/top pairing guys. Yet he is apparently the ONLY ONE who has no growth in his game. Its garbage that reeks of jealousy.

jeannot is 25 years old not 21. He was in the ECHL a couple years ago. That is way more of a potential one hit wonder than where Arber is now.

The habs have the deepest prospect pool in the NHL. They will have likely 3-4 picks in the first 40 this upcoming draft. They dont need multiple pieces that add up to Arber. The only way you trade Arber is for a garunteed better player which this deal does not offer.

No, just Kotkaniemi as long as Carolina fans live in delusion.

Agree to disagree then, because I think that between the 1st and Nikishin, the odds to end up with a better defenseman are high enough to take it.

Those defensemen younger than him in the NHL also comes with a higher pedigree though. It’s great that Xhekaj has gotten an opportunity to play in the NHL and make a name for himself. But you gotta be realistic: he’s unlikely to have as high of a ceiling as those guys who were high end picks.

Xhekaj today is a low impact bottom pairing guy who is fun to watch. He might continue to progress to play higher impact minutes in the NHL. But Montreal fans seem all too eager to pencil this guy in as a bona fide top pairing NHL defenseman. That’s just not the likely outcome of his development. No sour grapes here.

You know there is a middleground between top pair and bottom pair? Commonly referred to as the 2nd pair. By even the most conservtive projections a player where Arber is now ends up as a 2nd pair guy. Add in his enforcing skills and that is a major asset.


Just because a player went undrafted doesnt mean years later they are still beholden to that valuation. Aho is worth way more than KK but KK was the top 3 pick.

His biggest barrier in 2019 to being a NHLer was his skating. He now skates at an above average level for a NHLer (especially a dman). That changed his projection.

Yes, I am aware there are three pairings lmao.

I can see you very strongly believe that Xhekaj will continue a linear development curve and become a #3-4 defenseman. I disagree with you and think it’s unrealistic to call that “conservative”. My belief here is that, like many other players that play for Montreal, he is vastly overrated by Montreal fans.

I get it, he’s a fan favorite and a good story. But I’m selling high on Xhekaj and taking this package every day if I’m a Montreal GM.

Xhekaj has been one of the worst defenceman in the league statistically, doesn't make sense for Car. He isn't going to be a top 4 dman

This is why you should stick to your own team

Dude is in the NHL because he plays for a team without as much established NHL talent on the blue line. Again, a nice story but the guy would be a 7D or in the AHL for most other teams in the league.

He’s about to turn 22 in a few weeks. Making the jump straight from the CHL is great, but less impressive than if he were in his D+1 or something.

He’ll probably continue to develop and become a more consistent player, but realistically he’s unlikely to become more than a bottom pairing NHL regular. For an undrafted guy, that’s pretty awesome. But let’s not kid ourselves and put him in the same conversation as Power, Sanderson, etc.

Its clear you are oblivious to how old nhl dmen actually are

https://www.nhl.com/stats/skaters?report=bios&reportType=season&seasonFrom=20222023&seasonTo=20222023&gameType=2&position=D&filter=gamesPlayed,gte,15&sort=birthDate&page=0&pageSize=50

He is the 6th youngest dmen to be a nhl regular this year. The average draft position of everyone younger than him is 9th overall.

Its pretty stupid you cant see the middleground between bottom pair and potential franchise dman. His realistic projection at this point is a 3-4 dman.

Calling Xhekaj a 7th dman shows how delusional this guy is. Same guy that said Edmundson is bottom pair. Lets face it everyone is bottom pair according to him that doesnt play as well as Makar or if they attained true greatness.. Sam Girard. The softest player in the league.

A lot to pay for a third-pairing enforcer. Montreal would easily accept

Leads all rookie defenseman in goals but cool

Not exactly a very strong rookie class. While 5 goals is impressive for Xhekaj, he only has a 2.1 expected goals which means he is kind of getting lucky. He is not really generating offense. He also has considerably more giveaways than takeaways, especially in the defensive zone.

More Xhekaj stats:

-4 GAR (goals above replacement) This is very bad
-0.7 WAR (wins above replacement) Not good
-2.9 EVD (even strength defense) Not good
-0.4 EVO (even strength offense) Not actually that good offensively

While he is a fun player to watch, he is realistically nothing more than a #5 with a good story

Guy playing his first pro games and you have his career all planed out for him, nice