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The Montreal Canadiens may be looking to upgrade their third defensive pairing, and that means the spotlight is on Arber Xhekaj and Jayden Struble. With the NHL trade deadline approaching, questions are growing about whether the Habs are comfortable heading into the stretch run with their current 5th and 6th defencemen.
Could a move be coming?
Reports suggest the Calgary Flames have shown interest in Arber Xhekaj, fueling speculation that Kent Hughes could explore the market for help on the blue line.
If the Canadiens are looking for a defensive upgrade, one name that has surfaced in the rumor mill is Zach Whitecloud. The Calgary Flames defenceman is known as a steady, stay-at-home presence who brings physicality, shot blocking, and reliability in defensive situations—exactly the kind of traits teams often look for on a third pairing.
On today’s show, Shaun Starr and Marco D’Amico break it all down:
Are the Canadiens comfortable with Xhekaj and Struble on the third pair?
Why the Flames might be interested in Xhekaj
Would Zach Whitecloud be a real upgrade for Montreal’s defense?
What a potential trade between the Habs and Flames could look like
And how this decision fits into Kent Hughes’ long-term plan for the Canadiens blue line
Is this simply trade-deadline speculation… or are the Canadiens quietly preparing to upgrade their defense for the playoff push?
Let us know in the comments:
Would you trade Xhekaj or Struble to upgrade the Canadiens’ third pairing?
#GoHabsGo #MontrealCanadiens #NHlTradeRumors
20 Comments
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Here is whats for sale…
Laine
Struble
Valeno
Dach
It is also time to bring up Reinbacher as he is playing good enough and would help our right side. He is much better then Carrier
Whitecloud's value has skyrocketed imo and I suspect Calgary is in zero rush to move him.
They need to keep Hutson-Guhle-Matheson on the left side. Find a RHDman please.
I would love to see Dobson-Hutson-Matheson split on 3 pairs with a top PMD on the ice always. Dobson+ Guhle number one pairing.
Ristolainen seemd to be the only possible guy now assuming Philly really wants to move on and will drop their price at the deadline.
I wonder if they can get Bobrovsky without giving up much.
I feel the Habs playoff chances for this year are tentative at best. If they lose their next 3 games, they will be out of a playoff position. 😮
Early in his career Arber played a better game before Marty started messing with him and killed his confidence. The team needs a better coach, Marty just doesn't have the experience for the NHL. You're not going to trade Arber for someone better than him, why would anyone do that?
Lmao arber shouldnt be in the nhl to begin with montreal fans really hype nobodys
Why is it that over 90% of Canadiens fans can see the value in Xhekaj but the organization cannot?
If Struble or Arber play 10 min a night they can't be a problem!
Hutson turned one over that caused a goal and imo Carrier was real bad all game.Then we have this "net front presence"Hutson ALL of them nobody touches a player instead they stand in front leaving the forward behind them in front of the goalie.
You know who fixes this>>>MSL but he hasn't done a single thing to shore up the defensive end.I been saying forever MSL is just the recipient of Hughes supplying him better place we are not getting better coaching.
Defence is a TEAM concept it is not just finger pointing at one guy or the typical whipping boys and that TEAM concept is all on the coach.
At the end of the day, the Habs need to keep Xhekaj for the playoffs, even if he is only played in specific "situations"
Priorities for the team (if they can find it) are a Tom Wilson type player for the top line and a defensive D-man to reduce Matheson's game time. Team now has to decide what to do with Laine, Dach, Newhook, Bolduc and a few others, including a few prospects that might be trade bait (Not Hage, Zharovsky or Engstrom).
The way a D man shoots should not matter one bit there are positives and negatives to BOTH sides so it is NEVER just a case of oh no he is on the wrong side this won't work.There is actually a reason why it tends to show up as a problem and that is again coaches in the nHL are dumb as a piece of cardboard.Every RW is a right shot so the L D and him both have their sticks on the same side.However if you actually pay attention to games the players are moving all over the place VERY often the D man stands in the MIDDLE above the forward he is not playing either side.
It is ALWAYS 100% about hockey IQ all the p;layers need to think fast and adjust on the fly but more importantly READ the game be proactive and not reactive and so far MTL is 99% the time a reactive puck watching team.
So I wi;ll mention one of the negatives to being on your so called proper side and that is when the puck is on the bpoards the D man had his back turned to whatever is going on behind him but when his stick is in the middle he sees 99% of the ice the only part that might be a blind spot is the boards but who cares you want to keep the forward on the outside all the time.
Problem of the bottom pairing is lack of experience when you throw out Arber or Struble out there. Carrier is doing his best but he does not scare an opponent in front of our net & in the corners. Buffalo made a great run with Colton Parayko ! That is the type of defender you need in the playoffs. Ristollainen of the Flyers would be nice but at what cost ? We are fine offensively. Defence is a major issue now! Too many nice skaters but not enough toughness to clear the crease area. Struble and Arber are often out of position. We need more stability on the back end.
Hes a fan favorite hes a locker room favorite , hes a managements favorite , but msl hates him , even when he plays hes not allowed to play his game , msl wont let him be aggresive , msl made him use a way shorter stick that he hates msl wont use him to get the best out of him. Msl likes figure skaters that constantly turn the puck over . Playing man to man defense is trash in the nhl and wont go anywhere in the playoffs ..we are no different then leafs the last 10yrs ffs
Why trade for a physical right shot dman, msl wont play him anyways ….sad thing is we traded away the exact dman we are looking for twice now..first kovacevic and then mailoux….who in the f thaught carrier was worth anywhere near what he is being paid and how is he getting more ice time then xhejai and struble . Carrier is f in useless , figure skating pantywaste that cant win puck battles , cant clesr the front of the net and turns the puck over all game every game , msl seems to like that in a dman