Canadiens' Xhekaj should benefit most from time away from turbulent season

MONTREAL — It’s a week to recharge the batteries, to get some much-needed physical and mental rest and put things in proper perspective, and no one on the Montreal Canadiens might benefit more from it than Arber Xhekaj.

Of course, his break started a bit earlier than he’d have liked, as he was scratched by coach Martin St. Louis for Montreal’s game Saturday against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The idea that was a bad thing for Xhekaj sure seems out of whack. And it would also be a mischaracterization to suggest it was purely punitive after St. Louis was asked about Xhekaj’s three unnecessary penalties over the prior two games and responded, “I didn’t love that.”

Surely, the coach noticed Xhekaj’s intentions were good against the Ottawa Senators in New York Islanders. But there was no ignoring those misdeeds nor turning a blind eye to the execution not quite being where either him or Xhekaj would’ve wanted.

And that’s fine.

These were Xhekaj’s first games back in the NHL since suffering an injury halfway through November and, though no one expected him to be perfect, there was nothing wrong with holding him to the standard he had already set for himself in this league. And with six other healthy and capable defencemen available up with the Canadiens, that’s how it had to be.

The competition, and this step back, will enable the big, bruising, versatile defenceman to step forward. Just like spending six weeks in the American Hockey League did after coming off this most recent injury.

Xhekaj didn’t see that move coming, and he wasn’t sure it would help him at all.

But all it took was a bit of self-reflection to gain the proper perspective on how it could.

Xhekaj wasn’t the only one who needed it, considering some of the public’s reaction to his demotion.

“Sometimes people forget just how young you actually are,” I said to him on Thursday, prior to the game against the Islanders.

“Even I did,” the 22-year-old responded, referencing the realization he had to come to in order to make his time with the Laval Rocket as productive and beneficial as possible.

Not that Xhekaj ever took being an NHLer completely for granted, but who would’ve blamed him for getting a little more comfortable than he should’ve been in his place there?

He came to the Canadiens out of nowhere — an undrafted player who turned a training camp invite into a professional contract before showing up a year later and forcing and fighting his way on to the team — and he was lionized for not only immediately establishing himself as one of the most feared heavyweights in the league but for also playing the type of all-around game that suggested he could one day emerge as a steady top-four defenceman.

It was totally natural for Xhekaj to get wrapped up in the hype around him, and for him to wear his uniqueness in relation to Montreal as a security blanket. And it became obvious that was happening before this season even started.

It appeared to be a sign of maturity that Xhekaj didn’t get into a fight in exhibition, despite him being challenged several times. It was being perceived that way when he was turning down all comers in meaningless games after suffering a shoulder injury that required surgery and cut his first season down to 51 games. 

But Xhekaj put a dent in that perception when he was asked a question about it, saying the reason he had fought so frequently during last year’s exhibition and not fought at all during this year’s was because he went from trying to be on the team to having a secure place on it.

Again, this was an easy trap for him to fall into.

It’s one St. Louis avoided his whole career.

“I never felt comfortable, even when I was a first-line guy,” he said on the day Xhekaj was recalled from the AHL. “I don’t know if I knew it was dangerous (to get comfortable), that was just my makeup. I was always scared somebody was doing more than me and somebody was coming to take my spot. Whether I was a fourth-line guy or a first-line guy in the American League, fourth-line guy in the NHL, first-line guy in the NHL, I felt like somebody’s coming.”

But St. Louis’s circumstances were completely different from Xhekaj’s, even if both of them experienced being passed over in the draft multiple times before signing with NHL teams.

He was a small forward emerging at a time when hardly any of them were piercing through. He spent a year toiling in the AHL and now-defunct IHL before barely getting a chance to prove himself in 13 games with the Calgary Flames in 1998, and then he spent more time in the minors than he did in the world’s best league over the two years that followed. He was never in a situation early on in his pro career where he’d be considered to be so unique that he’d be considered irreplaceable.

The future Hall of Famer was 26 years old — and he had already fought through so much adversity — by the time he was first given the opportunity to prove just how unique and irreplaceable he could be. So, St. Louis never taking his place in the NHL for granted was bound to be his reality.

With how this season has gone down, I’m betting Xhekaj will never take his even slightly for granted again.

He already said that was his biggest takeaway from what he’s experienced over the past two months.

“I started realizing what it takes, and it takes a lot to stay here,” Xhekaj added. “Just having that everyday attitude — I think I maybe thought I was doing it, but I wasn’t.”

Coming to this realization was as good for him as the extra practice time in Laval was for his defensive game, which is what he was asked to work on most during his time in the AHL.

It all appeared to pay off well over Xhekaj’s 17 contests, as he shut players down while producing three goals and 11 points and taking on a leadership role to help the Rocket fly up the standings.

That progress was undeniable, and it’s likely going to show — gradually — as he returns from bye-week refreshed and prepared to take the steps to regain his footing in the NHL.

The Canadiens will be patient. Everyone else should be, too.

It took Xhekaj a couple of games to find his balance in the AHL, and there’s no reason to think he won’t also do it in this league after his first two rocky ones and a night in the press box.

Xhekaj knows he needs to be more disciplined. He admitted as much on Friday, telling reporters in Brossard, Que., he had apologized to Canadiens coaches for the penalties he took against Ottawa and New York.

But the six-foot-four, 240-pounder also knows he needs to be true to his nature in order to be his best self in this league.

“I mean, I think that is when I really started taking off in the AHL is when I just said, screw it, I’m going to do what I did to get me here and I’m going to play my game and not worry about anything,” he said upon his return to Montreal from Laval. “I’m not going to worry about not playing too aggressive, or fighting, or stuff like that. Just get back to the way I was ...”

A little time away from it all should only help Xhekaj do that now. A reset, a physical and mental break and some added perspective should help him more than just about anyone on this team.