Canadiens Notes: Kahkonen, Xhekaj, Right Wing
When the Montreal Canadiens signed veteran netminder Kaapo Kahkonen to a one-year, $1.15MM contract this summer, it was speculated by some that he could be viewed as a leading contender for the role of backup goalie behind entrenched starter Sam Montembeault. Today, The Athletic’s Arpon Basu reported that the competition for the job of No. 2 netminder is Jakub Dobes‘ “job to lose instead of a real battle.” Basu also added that it appears the Canadiens’ plan in net has been “to have Kahkonen help mentor Jacob Fowler in Laval.”
Fowler, of course, is the Canadiens’ top goaltending prospect and a player widely seen as one of the top goalie prospects in the entire sport. Although Kahkonen is subject to waivers, Basu noted that the player’s $1.15MM cap hit, the maximum allowable value that a team can “bury” in the AHL without any residual cap hit applied to its NHL books, was likely signed to dissuade teams from claiming Kahkonen. The 29-year-old has played in 140 career NHL games and has an .898 save percentage. The Canadiens’ likely backup per today’s report, Dobes, broke into the NHL last season and ended up posting a .909 save percentage across 16 games played.
Some other notes from training camp in Montreal:
- One of the emerging storylines in Canadiens camp has been the apparent growth of defenseman Arber Xhekaj, as was reported by Katherine Harvey-Pinard of La Presse. Basu echoed that sentiment in his own reporting, calling Xhekaj “outstanding” so far in camp, a performance that has given him a leg up to win a spot in the club’s opening-night lineup. With the way the Canadiens’ defense is constructed at this early stage of the preseason, it appears Xhekaj is competing against Jayden Struble, a fellow young bruising defenseman, to be the partner of Alexandre Carrier on the club’s third pairing. While there’s still a ways to go until these decisions get finalized, it appears Xhekaj has taken a strong early lead in the race for an opening-night lineup spot.
- Basu identified the competition to be the third winger on a line with Alex Newhook and Zachary Bolduc as the “primary battle” to watch at this stage of training camp. 2021 fifth-rounder Joshua Roy skated on that line Sunday, while Owen Beck began camp in that spot. Both players are competing against veterans Sammy Blais and Joe Veleno for that lineup spot, while Basu also named 2022 third-rounder Vinzenz Rohrer as a dark-horse option. Rohrer has reportedly made a strong impression in training camp, but ultimately would need to be loaned back to Switzerland’s ZSC Lions should he fail to earn a job on Montreal’s season-opening roster.
Canadiens Sign Vinzenz Rohrer
The Canadiens have signed one of their prospects, announcing today that they’ve inked forward Vinzenz Rohrer to a three-year, entry-level contract. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The 20-year-old was a third-round pick by Montreal back in 2022, going 75th overall. He remained with OHL Ottawa the following season, posting 19 goals and 30 assists in 54 games before deciding to change things up. Instead of staying for what likely would have been his final year of major junior, Rohrer instead decided to turn pro, inking a two-year deal with Zurich in Switzerland.
Rohrer put up 19 points in 49 games in 2023-24, decent numbers for a teenager playing in the pros. That was enough to earn a one-year extension with Zurich, putting him under contract through 2025-26. He followed that up with 15 goals and 10 assists in 52 games this season before adding seven points in 16 playoff contests. Instead of joining Montreal’s farm team in Laval after that for their playoff run, Rohrer went to the World Championship with Austria and fared well with them, collecting four goals and two assists in eight games as they made it to the quarterfinals.
In a release from Zurich (Twitter link), the Lions noted that while Rohrer will attend training camp with the Canadiens this fall, he will report back to Zurich if the team sends him down to the minors. This means that the contract has a European Assignment Clause for the upcoming season; if Rohrer ultimately is sent back, he will still count against Montreal’s contract limit of 50 while he’s too old to have the contract slide.