I want to see Florian Xhekaj take Joe Veleno’s place

Let’s take a look at the Canadiens’ worst scorers this season.

At two points, we find Kaiden Guhle, who played five games and has a defensive mandate. At one point, we find Arber Xhekaj (another defenseman with a defensive mandate) and Patrik Laine, who was having an ugly season before getting injured.

And “with no points” this season: Owen Beck, Joshua Roy… and Joe Veleno. The first two, however, haven’t played 10 games up top this season.

Let’s not forget that the Canadiens started Veleno in the stands this season, and that Patrik Laine’s state of health has changed things in recent weeks.

And since the Habs don’t want an extra forward, Veleno knows he won’t be dropped from the lineup.

Yes, Veleno sometimes makes good plays on the ice. But very often, we don’t see him during a game. He’s not contributing much to his club right now.

He also has a minus-5 differential. It’s not great, but it’s similar to that of Jake Evans (minus-8) and Josh Anderson (minus-5), who form a line with few mandates in the offensive zone.

We can’t even say he’s indispensable as a left-handed player who can get to the face-off circle, since he doesn’t necessarily take a ton of face-offs… and he doesn’t dominate as much as some of the regulars.

At 48.9% on a sample of 47 face-offs, Veleno is well behind his line-mate Jake Evans (58.2%) at the moment. Nick Suzuki (52.3%) and Oliver Kapanen (53.3%) are also doing better than Veleno.

I understand that Kent Hughes wants to save himself some salary by not having an extra up top. But a Florian Xhekaj to take Veleno out of the lineup, even for a single game, would help put pressure on the Québécois.

Because right now, Veleno is a passenger.

And what if a potential recall of the Unicorn would put pressure on the team internally, energize a fourth line that’s in neutral via some good old-fashioned physical play… and motivate Arber in the process?

What would the Habs really be risking?

overtime

– Worth noting.

– To be read.

– Indeed.