One of the most interesting things to watch as this Canadiens rebuild takes another step next season will be the continuing development of defenceman Arber Xhekaj.
That’s if the Canadiens have a spot for him — which they should.
Xhekaj has already beaten the odds, making it to the NHL as an undrafted player thanks in part to Michael Andlauer, who now owns the Ottawa Senators. Andlauer was part-owner of the Canadiens and also owned the junior Hamilton Bulldogs when they won the OHL championship in 2022, with Xhekaj playing a key role, posting 6-10-16 totals in 18 playoff games along with 50 penalty minutes. Andlauer helped Xhekaj get an invitation to the Canadiens’ rookie camp and the 6-foot-4, 240-pound defenceman was able to make the jump directly from junior to the NHL.
The Canadiens are loaded with young defencemen — including first-round draft picks David Reinbacher (the fifth overall pick in 2023) and Logan Mailloux (the 31st pick in 2021), who will be looking to make the jump to the NHL next season. Xhekaj is 24, Kaiden Guhle and Jayden Struble are 23, Lane Hutson is 21, while Mailloux is 22 and Reinbacher is 20.
David Savard decided to retire, so there will be an opening on the blue line next season. But it wouldn’t be a surprise if GM Kent Hughes acquires another veteran right-shot defenceman this summer to replace Savard, while also looking for a second-line centre. You have to give up something to get something and there’s no doubt other teams will be interested in Xhekaj. You’d have to think the Senators are one of them.
Xhekaj brings a unique blend of size, toughness and skill — although he’s still raw at times — that is hard to find in today’s NHL. He also has 165 games of NHL experience at a young age — along with nine goals, 20 assists and 300 penalty minutes. He still struggles defensively sometimes and was minus-13 last season.
The last two seasons have been tough at times for the Hamilton, Ont., native. Xhekaj was sent down to the AHL’s Laval Rocket for 17 games two seasons ago and was a healthy scratch for nine of the Canadiens’ last 10 games this year, losing his spot to Struble. Xhekaj was also a healthy scratch for the first two games of the playoffs against the Washington Capitals.
Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis was asked about Xhekaj last week, when he was a guest on the Missin Curfew podcast with his former Tampa Bay Lightning teammate Shane O’Brien.
“He’s come a long way and he can do way more than just fight,” St. Louis said. “They call him the Sheriff in Montreal and he’s very good at that. But there’s a lot of other stuff that he’s very good at as well. I think as a defenceman — especially a young defenceman — the hardest part of the league is defending. Defending in short space, reading the rush and all that. You forget that he’s still very young and that he’s going to keep improving. But he’s got a nice package.
“Obviously, he can fight, but take that out of the equation and he’s still a very young, promising defenceman,” St. Louis added. “If he has to fight, he will, but he’s learned to pick his spots. When he first came in, he felt like he had to do that and we tried to remind him that it’s part of the game, but you got to play the game that’s in front of you as well and he’s learned to pick his spots. He’s a lot of fun to coach, too.”
That last comment should silence some Canadiens fans who think there might be something personal between St. Louis and Xhekaj that resulted in him not being in the lineup at times. I believe it’s a case of St. Louis seeing the potential in Xhekaj and working to get the most out of him with some hard coaching.
When asked about his relationship with St. Louis after the Canadiens were eliminated by the Capitals, Xhekaj said: “It was great. We obviously talked a bunch. He just helped me. We idolize him in the room and he’s our leader. He helped me a lot this year with balancing toeing the line and all that stuff.
“Sometimes it’s to not cross the line and he kind of keeps me behind the line a little bit,” Xhekaj added. “We have a great relationship and he helps me every day, pretty much.”
Xhekaj has learned he’s at his best when he stays calm on the ice, sits back a bit with a good stick and good gap control while focusing on his defensive game instead of looking for a big hit.
“I think as I learn that defensive side and I get really comfortable with it, I can start adding the big hits and I can line guys up better and know when the time is,” Xhekaj said. “I think that just comes with experience.”
There’s a lot to like about Xhekaj in a Canadiens uniform moving forward.
