NHL analyst Ray Ferraro calls out Arber Xhekaj for jumping Cedric Pare
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Arber Xhekaj stood up for his teammate against the Toronto Maple Leafs, but in doing so, he has been called out for the way he went about things.
While the pre-season isn't anywhere near the intensity of a regular season NHL game, there has been plenty of feeling in the games thus far in 2024, with no better example than the old rivalry between Montreal and Toronto. During their Saturday night clash, Cedric Pare took out Patrik Laine with a knee-on-knee hit, and unfortunately for Laine, it will likely cost him significant time.
As a result of this, Pare became a target for the Canadiens, and it wasn't looked before enforcer Arber Xhekaj took on Pare, taking him down and beating him in the middle of the ice.
While it was a way for him to stand up for his team, it wasn't done in the right way by Xhekaj, with many people calling him out for his actions before the NHL's Department of Player Safety gave him the biggest possible fine. For some, however, that wasn't enough, with analyst Ray Ferraro giving his take on the situation, stating what he would have liked to see happen to Xhekaj.
I thought he should have got a game for sure. A regular season game
For most, the opinion has been divided on this, with many believing the punishment for Pare was the beating from Xhekaj, and while the young Canadiens defenseman was certainly in the wrong for the way he went about it, the belief is that it was justified. Regardless, the league has handed down their punishment and appears ready to move on from the situation, but with these two teams playing to open the 2024/25 season, don't expect the feelings between them to go away.
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