Martin St. Louis calls out Arber Xhekaj in press conference today: he is not happy
At a press conference, Montreal Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis was especially hard on defenceman Arber Xhekaj, which has drawn criticism from some Habs fans.
The Montreal Canadiens haven't gotten off to the strongest start for their season, currently holding a 2-4-1 record after 7 games played, with a particularly tough defeat to swallow at home to the New York Rangers, losing the game 7-2. Despite it being early in the season, alarm bells are ringing in the Canadiens' ears. It seems that head coach Martin St. Louis has identified Arber Xhekaj, who has reportedly very irritated at being consistently left out of the lineup, , as a big problem in the teams roster.
He told the media this,
You should be worried about making some mistakes, you know. He's not a rookie anymore.
It's not like we nitpick everything he does... I expect Xhekaj to be a better version.
These harsh comments came as a surprise to some fans, feeling that the coach was being too harsh on the young, 23-year-old, and holding the player to unrealistic standards, as well as not treating his fellow players the same. Some expressed their shock on X, writing,
The Canadiens have been in a strange spot for the last few years, facing a steady decline since their Stanley Cup finals appearance in 2021, are in a rebuild, and rumored to be buyers in the trade market this season, , hoping to build on a promising young core including Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki.
Whether or not the team will keep St. Louis as the head coach, especially considering his harsh comments and discontent from some of the fanbase, only time will tell.
