RFA defenseman Arber Xhekaj has agreed to terms on a two-year deal with the Canadiens, the team announced in a press release. The deal is worth $2.6MM and will pay him an average of $1.3MM per season.
Xhekaj, whose younger brother Florian Xhekaj is also in the Habs’ system, has spent the last two seasons in Montreal. He’s posted 23 points (eight goals, 15 assists) and a -3 rating while averaging 15:34 per game in 95 contests.
Undrafted, Xhekaj burst onto the scene directly out of junior hockey just one season after inking his entry-level contract with the Canadiens. After losing his 2020-21 season due to COVID-19, Xhekaj signed with Montreal in October 2021 and returned to the Ontario Hockey League for his final season of juniors, which the hard-hitting defender split between the Kitchener Rangers and Hamilton Bulldogs.
According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, Xhekaj was drawing trade interest throughout last season, with the Flyers named specifically as a suitor. No move materialized, though, and Montreal projects to enter next season with the same group of promising young defenders. Their only noticeable departure on the blue line this summer was stay-at-home depth piece Johnathan Kovacevic, who they traded to the Devils for a 2026 fourth-round pick after last month’s draft.
The deal comes in around expected for the 23-year-old, who didn’t have enough professional experience accumulated to file for salary arbitration this summer. While the Ontario native is certainly becoming a fan favorite in Montreal, he’s been given only sparse opportunities on special teams and has logged decisively bottom-pairing minutes at even strength. The left-shot defender can also play comfortably on the right side, potentially giving him the edge in a battle for a spot in the opening night lineup with other developing prospects like Justin Barron, Lane Hutson and Jayden Struble.
After the signing is registered, the Habs will be left with just over $6.6MM in projected cap space with a roster size of 22, per PuckPedia. The last remaining roster spot could go to Barron, who’s still an RFA in need of a deal for next season.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Its a good thing he can fight, because he’s definitely not being paid to play D
Spoken like a true weiner
Aww, I’m sorry, didn’t mean to hurt anyone’s feelings
Desharnais wants to know when Xhekaj learned to fight because their bout was one-sided and over fairly quick. Followed by Arbor missing the rest of the season.
Well you’re right on one point, he sure can fight. He can also cause most players to be a little more timid in the corners and the front of the net. The Habs don’t need him to be a crafty, puck handling, goal scoring PP Dman. They also have Hutson coming up for that. It’s great to have flexibility!
Oof an overpay! But in today’s market is all teams do. Should be league minimum but due to some foolish team trying to trade for him it brought him some perceived value. Smh
Wow, some real Hab Haters laying in the woods these days. Xhekaj is still developing so $1.3M per is OK and a sign his short AHL stint is behind him. I would think there maybe another 31 clubs that would love to have this undrafted 23 year old.