'Jayden Struble would be on the top-4 of several very good teams.'

On the eve of the start of the NHL season, the Canadiens find themselves with a battle on their hands on the blue line. While we knew that the Habs’ defensive positions were pretty well all filled, we’re currently witnessing a good battle between Jayden Struble and Arber Xhekaj for the team’s sixth defenseman.

The problem is that so far, both defensemen are having a very good practice, and neither really deserves to start the first game on the bridge. The solution could be to dress Xhekaj for the tougher games and use Struble against the faster teams.

Except that, so far, Xhekaj is playing much more effective hockey in his zone and has improved his decision-making, while Struble has added a more physical dimension to his game and can throw down the gloves if necessary, as we saw last Tuesday. This blurs somewhat the role and contribution that each player can make.

According to Nicolas Cloutier, who appeared on The Sick Podcast, Struble could be a top-4 defenseman on many NHL teams.