Following last night’s victory over Winnipeg, the Canadiens announced a pair of roster moves. The team has assigned defenseman Adam Engstrom and winger Florian Xhekaj to AHL Laval.
Engstrom, a 2022 third-round pick, got off to a hot start in the minors this season, posting five goals and nine assists in 18 games, the last of which was a five-point effort to earn him the promotion. The 22-year-old got into a pair of games with Montreal in his first NHL stint, blocking a pair of shots while averaging a little over 12 minutes of ice time.
As for Xhekaj, he also was in his initial NHL stint. He got into five games with the Canadiens, recording an assist in his NHL debut and added nine hits while logging 9:36 of playing time per contest. The 21-year-old was a fourth-round pick in 2023 and while he had a promising rookie year in 2024-25 with Laval where he had 24 goals in 69 games, he has been limited to just two goals and two assists in 16 games in the minors this season.
With these moves, Montreal is now at the minimum of 20 players on the active roster. With a back-to-back set coming up this weekend including a road game in Toronto, it stands to reason that they’ll likely be bringing a player or two up from Laval in the near future.