Well that was quite the debut for Montreal Canadiens rookie Arber Xhekaj to the NHL last night. Playing at home against the Arizona Coyotes, he got into a fight against Arizona Coyotes forward Zack Kassian and manhandled him.
Arber desperately wants to stay with the Habs and he showed what he is willing to do. He also pumped up the crowd all the way to the penalty box as you can see in the Arber Xhekaj fight below.
“He left a trail of devastation behind him in the OHL last year. I talked to OHL coaches about (Xhekaj) – people were terrified of him.”
TSN’s Gord Miller on Arber Xhekaj
Will Arber Xhekaj be sent down to the minors?
The Montreal Canadiens need a tough guy to protect their young stars like Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki. Xhekaj introduced himself to the NHL last night and let teams know if they push around their young stars, they will have to pay a price.
In just a few games, Xhekaj has become a fan favorite in Montreal. The media was reporting that in less than five minutes after his fight with Kassian the Arber Xhekaj jerseys were sold out in XL and XXL.
Xhekaj, 21, stands at 6’4″ 220lbs and was undrafted. He hails from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and has a Habs salary cap hit of $828,333.
Video of the Arber Xhekaj fight against Zack Kassian
