“No wonder Reaves didn’t go him”: NHL fans react to Arber Xhekaj sporting hilarious "F*ck You" pinstriping suit

Fans reacted as Montreal Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj made quite the fashion statement with his pinstripe suit for the team's opening night against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The pinstripes on Xhekaj's suit spelled out a subtle "F*ck You" message, designed by Montreal tailor Top Notch Custom.

Images of Xhekaj's bold suit quickly went viral on social media, sparking hilarious reactions from NHL fans. One tweeted:

"No wonder Reaves didn’t go him," suggesting that Toronto's tough guy Ryan Reaves seemed unwilling to engage Xhekaj despite his provocative calls during the game.

Another joked:

"Arber, remember. Don't wear this at a funeral, wedding or church service."

Here are some more fan reactions:

"You can tell who is a normal person, and who is absolutely soft, like I normally don’t like this angle of thinking, but getting upset over a suit is actually baby material," one fan wrote on X.

"Word on the ice is he’s already been fined $1000 for the suit," another fan wrote.

"Thats why Reaves been shaking all night. The guy couldn’t even skate properly with that diaper on," a user commented.

"The only two words this clown knows how to spell most likely," another user commented.

The suit seemed to inspire Xhekaj, who logged 13:50 minutes of ice time and helped the Canadiens shut out their rivals 1-0.

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Arber Xhekaj on his offensive game this season

Arber Xhekaj has made it clear that he plans to bring a physical edge to the team's game this season. In preseason matches and the regular season opener, Xhekaj has shown that he's not afraid to play an aggressive style and stand up for his teammates when needed.

Xhekaj said last week (as per fortsaskatchewanrecord.com):

"At times it definitely felt like, over the last two years, teams were running us. It felt like we were getting pushed around and didn’t have any push-back. The bigger, stronger teams felt like they were throwing us around the ice and weren’t taking us seriously."

His physical play has resulted in fines and penalties, including a major unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in preseason after his hits on Maple Leafs’ Cedric Pare and Ottawa’s Tim Stutzle.

However, Arber Xhekaj feels this kind of response is necessary:

"It’s necessary to let teams know we’re done with getting pushed around; this is not the year for that. We’re not going to back down to any team. We don’t care who you are."

While Arber Xhekaj will need to balance his aggressive tendencies with disciplined play, it's clear that he plans to add some toughness to the Canadiens this season.