Kent Hughes is always a busy man but these days the Montreal Canadiens' general manager must be doing some overtime. The 2024 Draft, the Slafkovsky extension and the failed signature attempts in free agency kept him busy for the three months that have gone by since the end of the season.
He still has a lot of work to get done though, including signing his two RFA defensemen; Arber Xhekaj and Justin Barron. Now that the calendar has turned to July, both could be signed to an offer sheet.
It's no secret that Xhekaj has made a name for himself and that other teams' GMs have been calling to enquire about his availability on the trade market. In light of that could one of those team contemplate making an offer to the rugged blueliner? Looking at the compensation it wouldn't be that pricy.
It's highly likely that Xhekaj and his agents are aiming below $4.58 M which means an offer between $2.29 M and the upper limit already mentioned would only cost a team a 2nd round pick at the next draft. That's not too steep a price to pay.
While I understand why it's logical for Hughes to sign an extension with Kaiden Guhle first to start his salary structure on defense, Xhekaj is an RFA now and he should be inked to a deal as soon as humanly possible.
