On this episode of The Sick Podcast, Georges Laraque joins Tony Marinaro to discuss trade rumors surrounding Arber Xhekaj, his current value on the trade market, what the team would look like without him and much more!
I love George but please be professional and use a cabled internet connection already. Wifi isn't good enough. This happens all the time with him. Also get rid of the intro. Tony is legend!
You could be nicer about Georges, he is renting a place right now, the connection sucks… If you don’t like the intro, fast forward it! Have a nice day! 😉
Colorado when they won the cup in 2022 they had Newhook 5’11 WHO WE HAVE. Girard 5’10 Lehkonen 5’11 Cogliano 5’10 Makar 5’11 This year Colorado has 9+ players on their roster 5’11 or under. Penguins in 2016 and 2017 won the cup twice in a row with Crosby 5’11 Kessel 5’11 Hornqvist 5’11 Daley 5’11 Rust 5’11 Sheary 5’8 Scott Wilson 5’10 Guentzel 5’11 Penguins won in 2017 with the same Core…. Chicago in 2015 Kane 5’10 Versteeg 5’11 Shaw 5’11 Teravainen 5’11 Timonen 5’10 Tampa Bay in 2020 Barré-Boulet 5’10 Blake Coleman 5’11 Yanni Gourde 5’9 Tyler Johnson 5’8 Nikita Kucherov 5’11 Gemel Smith 5’10 Brayden Point 5’11 Mitchell Stephens 5’11….. When they won the cup again they had 5 players 5’11 or Under…. Back To Back Cups and the first cup was with 8!! “Undersized Forwards”…. 6 Times out of the past 9 years a team has won the cup with a decent amount of “Undersized” forwards…. Montreal has Nick Suzuki 5’11 212 pounds Alex Newhook 5’11 199 pounds Cole Caufield 5’8 175 pounds Brendan Gallagher 5’9 183 pounds Lane Hutson 5’10 160 pounds who will still get stronger as he gets older… That is 5 guys I see being on a playoff roster for the Habs moving forward… Our Defence is STACKED with guys 6’2 or taller with good weight on all of them. This Habs Team Right Now! Has 10! Players 6’1 or taller… Personally when this team is competitive some of them won’t be there like Anderson, Ylonen, White, Pearson, Dvorak… But we have right now Kirby Dach 6’4 217 Pounds Joel Armia 6’3 216 pounds Juraj Slafkovsky 6’3 230 pounds Jake Evans 6’1 187 pounds Micheal Pezzetta 6’1 217 pounds All these guys I can see being involved with our playoff roster when the time comes some will have a bigger role than others… We have Coming up who I see being a big part of this team… Owen Beck 6’0 190 pounds Oliver Kapanen 6’1 183 pounds Luke Tuch 6’2 203 Pounds Florian Xhekaj 6’4 190 pounds Joshua Roy 6’0 187 pounds You guys are delusional to think this Habs Team will be small in the near Future and won’t have a chance at winning the cup and these are just forwards I mentioned as well if I get into our defence this team will be a big team overall…. You can win with 5-8 forwards that are 5’11 or under but this team will only have 5 and if they can move on from Gallagher they will only have 4…. The Montreal Canadiens RIGHT NOW are the 6th Heaviest Team in the NHL!…. Do your research and stop talking just to talk…. Edit: all our “Undersized forwards” can play a Two Way Game…
So I definitely think the size argument is overblown. We aren’t as small as people think and it’s not some super difficult thing to add size. So I’m with you on a good chunk of what you wrote here. However, armia, pezzetta, and Evans are unlikely to be here when we contend for a cup. Armia is going to be gone either this summer or by the trade deadline, and even if the other two stick around, they’re 4th liners. That size doesn’t mean too much if they play 8 minutes. Florian xhekaj also probably won’t be more than a 4th liner, and kapanen and Beck play the same type of game so we’ll probably only keep one of them. Luke tuch also very well may not even turn into an nhler. Of course, all these prospects could surprise, but realistically, many of them don’t meet their potential. So I wouldn’t look at the current state of the organization and say definitively that we’ll be good for size when we contend. We will certainly need to add a few more bigger bodies, but it’s just not as extreme of a need as some people make it out to be
@@markfrost5149 I disagree even if a player plays 8 minutes they can still make an impact… Pezzetta this season would play 7.47 minutes per game on average and would average 5 hits a game… we are seeing in the playoffs right now 4 liners with size playing low minutes having an impact so I disagree with that… Florian Xhekaj has the same drive his brother has… Lots of people said Arber wouldn’t make the NHL and now some people view him as a solid player and one you need to have in the playoffs.. I wouldn’t doubt that Florian has the potential to be a good 4th line player with size… Last playoffs we seen 4th liners from Vegas come up big in their cup run. Luke Tuch you can Argue on his potential, But Pierre McGuire, Craig Button and Grant McCagg see him as a potential 3rd line player in the future, But sure nothing is guaranteed. Owen Beck and Oliver Kapanen both play strong Two Way Games and are decently physical as well, You can never have enough Two Way players especially on your 3rd or 4th line… And both in my opinion have strong NHL potential you can argue about their ceiling but I think they will be NHL players…. Joshua Roy is a player with decent Size not too big not too small and he’s heavy, Two Way player can be great on the penalty kill and is looked at as a Top 6 prospect… Sure you can Argue Armia, Evans and Pezzetta won’t be here when we contend and you may be right, But the Habs can find players with size and it’s really not a big need. My point is the “Undersized Forwards” we have now are not an issue and this team is not as small as people think… So if the Habs choose to draft let’s say Berkly Catton or Ivan Demidov both of these players are 5’11 and say they do not draft Lindstrom or Iginla this team will still have a chance at winning a cup… As long as the Habs are drafting a player that’s 5’11 and Up we will be fine…
I agree with Laraque! Nobody takes more penalties than Gally! Do you see him apologizing ? We need a protector on the ice for our star players! We need his toughness and just his presence on the ice has opponents playing differently against us! They are aware he’s out there that’s for sure! Guys like this are one in a million! Keep this guy!
Xhekaj is an untouchable for me right now! We don’t have big forwards and they need protection! In addition, Arber plays very good hockey by making good passes, skating well, he can hit with his big body and he’s got a very hard and precise shot! Amongst the great fighters of this league, I think he has the best hockey talent! I don’t care if teams are interested, we keep our sheriff or the earth is going to stop turning! I am wondering if the journalist who is implying this rumor is lacking content right now, it is stirring the pot for no reason… If I was a small forward in this team and Arber would be gone, I am not sure I would sign an extension under those unprotected circumstances…
Pretty obvious teams are wanting Arber at a lowest cost while he was sent back to the AHL. Again now, he has a shoulder surgery. Arber is part of our Habs core👍
I want to also remind people of that angry mentality St.Louis had when he was told by management to play that young player because his parents were at the game.He in a lame manner was actually throwing management under the bus with his response he said something to the effect "You have to ask management"so he was redirecting the question about having to play the youngster.
I have to agree with big Georges, back in the days when almost all teams had tough guys, Georges was the only guy who could defeat Chara which ended up winning a Stanley cup against Vancouver mostly with intimidation...and also because of Tim Thomas !!!
He is very zen for a big guy! He takes good care of himself and he eats well too. I’ve heard Tony complain about it sometimes, hehe! The more I get to know the guy, the more I realize he his very smart! He knows the game well and sometimes he is being over the top but he’s passionate and it’s in his personality so I appreciate him the way he is…
Same thought, there is no other Xhekaj in the league. 2 years ago when he was playing his last few games in Kitchener/Hamilton, it was obvious the whole league got fleeced. His playoff that last year was impressive. He needs more minutes on the ice
As the man Mr Laraque said, "Montreal is not built with wingers that have grit" ... "Montreal is not built with wingers that have grit"... "Montreal is not built with wingers that have grit"
i said last year that if the option for Xhekaj for lafreniere , they should do it if somebody of that level come in this years , hughes should consider it even if 10-15 pick draft like for romanov , let do it
George is Absolutely 100% correct !!!!! Oh please , ALL PLAYERS TAKE DUMB PENAULTIES !!!!!! leave it alone. If someone does not understand what George is saying. You don't understand the game, Period !!!!
George gas been a career-long under achiever. He still continue to be one has a commentator. In the playoff, no team hold back like he pretend when saying that bennet wouldn’t punch marchand….. he would and then that would turn into a bloodbath like many many many series every years. The only point george is right is the wearing-out factor. I love Arber BUT if he doesn’t want to be a 7th D moving foward, he had to improve is game and sending him down to the AHL was the correct move. This had nothing to do whit lack of respect. The goal whit this was to turn a goon (at that time) into a nasty REGULAR bottom pairing defensemen. I prefer Arber on a 3rd pair on a regular basis and taking ‘’necessary’’ penalty then a Arber that is a 7th and is use like reaves only when u need a fight. If ur 6th defensemen is a legit 6th and he ALSO can cruch ur skull, his impact is far greater than a reaves. Laraque is missing the target….. like always.
@@quebecgkexellence9297 WOW! Is it too hard to prove a point without bringing someone down like you are doing towards Georges! If you don’t like him, that’s your choice but please keep it to yourself! Nobody needs to read negative comments about Tony’s collaborators. A so-called « underachiever » who scored 153 pts in 695 games lasting 12 years in the NHL with career earnings of about 12 millions US. Everything else you say becomes irrelevant to me due to lack of credibility.
@@MC-rs5tx welcome into a society where free speech is a cornerstone. Criticism imply negativity AND positivity. Thats how reality work. I see that ur feelings got hurt. I got 1 suggestion for u ; grow up.
@@quebecgkexellence9297 Like I said, no credibility, trying to lecture me and put me down. Maybe you are the one that needs to grow up! Everybody knows that criticism implies both positive and negative feedback. Negative criticism doesn’t have to be pejorative… My feelings are not hurt but I am certainly annoyed by the free undeserved trash comments.
Two things other teams don't treat their tough guys like St.Louis did throwing Arber under the bus to the press.Furthermore two-3 weeks later Slafkovsky took 3 terrible penalties in the same game and when St.Louis was asked about it he said Slaf was just an intense player NOT the same response he had to Arber's 2 penalties. That to me proved St.Louis is an asshat who throws his players under the bus and picks his spots in a hypocritical manner. Something else it proved to me was that St.Louis all year long has been in try hard mode to make the playoffs.That is a SELFISH move by the coach he is trying to prove he is doing a great job but he over played Matheson big time trying too hard to win and did NOT give other players a FAIR chance to improve and earn a spot. St.Louis went with the same setup the last half and the team actually did a bit worse than before the all star break falling to the same spot 5th worse as last year.So all of St.Loui's try hard mentality did NOT accomplish anything for the TEAM.
St Louis thinks that he can win the cup with 9 under 6 foot forwards... He thinks that all smurfs are as hard as strong as he used to be.. Being surrounded by tuff players is not a requirement with this coach .
The make-the-payoffs point is a good one. But it could become meaningless next season. They have a tonne of rookies that need NHL games now ... Roy, Hutson, Mailloux, probably Reinbacher & Beck. Those guys represent around 40 NHL games combined, most of them played by Roy. It will be the 2025/2026 season before they each have 100 games under their belt. Add in the potential stud they draft at #5 this year. So develop or make the playoffs? They are definitely going to get younger before they get better.
@@starledge As long as the SHRIMP hall of fam coach ignores the importance of size, grit, sandpaper, intimidation, we will go nowhere fast. I feel that Gorton & Hughes are at a dispute with the coach on how valuable bigger guys is a necessity to win in the playoffs. we do not want more shrimps/smurfs on the team .....
@@FooFahFoeFum Well, Mailloux, Reinbacher, Roy, Beck and the #5 stud they draft ... not smurfs. They are all 6' or bigger. Hutson is the exception. If they all don't start playing soon then the rebuild stalls. MSL will HAVE to play them or he will be replaced. He can't go off in any direction he likes, like Therrien did. If they can develop AND make the playoffs then they are doing everything right. I include Xhekaj in the rebuild. He's a player they need, unless he becomes a big problem but I just don't see it. If he was then MSL wouldn't have dressed him regularly between Laval and his injury.
They traded McDonagh. They traded Sergachev. They traded P.K. Subban. PK SUBBAN! If they trade Xhekaj, I’m done with the “Canadiens de Montréal”. Something is seriously wrong with this organization. You heard it in George’s voice. He knows. F it
XHEKAJ's value is not measurable...there are no stats or numbers to reflect the importance of intimidation and toughness...you just need it to compete for the cup.
We don't get fan questions anymore or calls? this year has been a different Podcast i feel like - less interaction with people and more "guests". Way less interactive. Just my thought
Xhekaj with Hutson... Also Xhejak is +6 but he took a lot of penalties that cost goals against on the pk which sucks, so he's like -4 He's right though Habs beat Boston like 10 times in a row before the Pacio hit. They lost in playoffs with no Markov and Pacio, didn't help.
Marty plays a soft, skilled game. If Xhekaj is not there to protect all of his teammates, the Canadiens will be slapped around by every other team in the league! Do not get rid of Arber!
Oh come on Georges this is duch bullshit. You skated around and ask Lucic to fight and he didn't and you did NOTHING. When you were a Hab we got Swept!. We beat them several times without you. Give me a break.
@MC-rs5tx I don't really care if you think it's disrespectful. It's the truth. Georges is presenting it as if he was a diffrence maker vs. Boston. But when he was a Hab they swept us. When he wasn't we beat them in the playoffs several times. And as far as intimidation. I paid a lot of money to see him pay back Lucic for injuring Komisarek. Georges did nothing but follow him around.
@@TORHABSFAN1 Quick reply! It is your perspective, I don’t remember because I wasn’t watching the games a lot at that time… If it makes you feel better to say your piece, I don’t care either… I thought you were rude and I felt like telling you! Take care! 😉
I agree. Sometimes a player uses his instinct to send a message to opposing players even if it looks bad at the moment because further into the game WiFi believes it will make a difference. If it didn't then the coach must explain it to him why that "penalty" didn't make the difference.
George is right, Arber is a better defenceman than he gets credit for. I'm not as polite as George, so I'm just gonna say it -- Marty is an idiot. HE is the one who needs to be gone.
Scotty Bowman, ... Pierre Macguire, ....Knukles Nyland, .... Georges Laraque .... have all said that the Habs are small, lack grit, lack sandpaper.. I think that Mr Gorton and Hughes want larger players with these attributes, but Martin St Louis is resisting these type of players.
To go deep in the playoffs, you need players like Xhekaj. The Habs traded Chelios because of several knee injuries, how many years did he played afterwards, perfect example!
Is it not possible that The Montreal coach thinks that he can win a cup with no tuff guys, no fighting, no grit, no sandpaper; .....Caufeilds , Hutson, Roy, and more soft flyweight smurfs in the lineup?
Georges is entertaining but his love for Xhekaj is clouding his judgment. There's nothing wrong with setting high standards and making the kid earn it.
At least half the team takes stupid lazy penalties like George said. Mtl need Xhekaj more than Xhekaj need Mtl. It's been years that everybody like Marinaro and others who says that Mtl need a big guy. Now that we have one, they all wanted Mtl to trade him. IS THIS A JOKE!!!!
