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Arber Xhekaj’s NHL stats for the season and they are impressive. What I glean from these stats is that Xhekaj is too good for bottom pairing and it’s time to see if he can hold these stats against better players.

They get the guy at the more premium position and might have been looking at his usage in Laval (strict 4C) and figuring that a bigger role could get him going.

Yes, as was noted in the article. Obviously, it would be different now. I was still hoping as of a few weeks ago to get the full write-ups done like normal but realized it wasn't going to happen. So rather than sit on them any longer, I figured I'd get them up before the deadline. I'm going to have to figure out a different way to do these moving forward. I had hopes that Kidney would be able to contribute fairly quickly this season which factored into that rating. I've been higher on Struble than other sites in the past but since he was coming off a tough senior year, I didn't see cause to move him up but didn't want to drop him either which is how he wound up staying where he was.

Interesting numbers for sure. He kind of has been second pair with Savard lately and hasn’t looked out of place for most part, they actually make a decent combo from the eye test, have not looked at advanced metrics. I’ve personally always seen him ending up as a solid 4/5 guy with second unit PP potential and possibly PK potential should he learn some finer points on positioning, disrupting, reading NHL PP’s. Playing PP time may actually help him see the angles when on PK. I do believe he is best served by having continued, sustained success in a lower role for a longer period of time before I’d throw him out against top 6’s every shift, every night (not that you’re saying that is the case either). Again, he is playing on what is the second pair now and ice time creeping up to the higher teens and into the twenties now. I think you may have called it, and they are thrusting him into more responsibility/trust. Given his trajectory and season so far, I’d like him to end on a strong note rather than pushing him too hard. Post season exit meeting, you tell him he needs to elevate his play once again and will have a shot at top 4 next year type thing. Knowing what we know of him, he’ll come back faster, stronger, more aware hopefully. He needs to stop chasing players so far out of position in d zone, start recognizing when they are no longer a threat and just pulling him away from the important areas.

Agree. In an era of player mobility, it is important to be seen to treat people in classy way. The key is to not allow that to undermine your wider organizational goals (as MB did, for example, when he gave Gally a ridiculous contract, seemingly out of a sentimental attachment to the guy).

While the primary focus is the rebuild, I disagree that "doing right by the player" is not also part of the Hughes ethos ... for example, as Habs Fan in Edmonton said above, he traded for Petry knowing Jeff didn't want to be here and JP ended up in Detroit (for a "body" and a 2025 4th), where he wanted to be, not necessarily for the best return ... Monahan apparently had a say in where he went despite not having a NTC ... and at the start of the season, it was intimated that if Allen were traded he would have a say in where he went beyond his 7-team NTC.

I don't think it's posturing. If the options are sell Allen for a minimal return now or wait until June when more teams will have an opening, he's going to be quite comfortable running with the existing setup for six more weeks and bank on doing better trade-wise three months from now.