Elliotte Friedman's major revelation about Arber Xhekaj: interest in him in the NHL is huge

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Jeff Drouin
October 1, 2022 (0:51)

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Over the past few weeks, Montreal Canadiens fans have gotten to know young defenseman Arber Xhekaj a lot better, and he's really shaking things up on defense.

He has great potential, and is building a strong case for NHL play sooner rather than later.

Xhekaj is a great story, as he was never drafted in the NHL, and had to resign himself to choosing another job to make a living. That was before he got a surprise call from the Montreal Canadiens last season to attend the 2021 camp.

The rest is history.

On the other hand, Sportsnet tipster Elliotte Friedman revealed that several NHL teams were very disappointed when they learned that Xhekaj had signed a contract with Montreal. He was really starting to make some noise in the NHL, and the Habs signed him at the perfect time. A very good move!

"Friedman says several teams expressed big regrets about not scouting Xhekaj first."

If Montreal had released him last year, teams would have lined up to sign him. And since then, interest in Xhekaj has been growing exponentially in the NHL. This kid is worth a lot of money!

"Montreal seems to have a real steal here (with Xhekaj). There are a lot of teams that confirmed to me today that they would really want him. They're like: we wish we had found him first. We might regret (missing out)."

- Elliotte Friedman

This is major, and it confirms what we've been observing for days and weeks. We were right!

We're really looking forward to seeing what the future holds for him with the Montreal Canadiens, whether it's this season or next year. He's going to play some big games in the NHL.

*Comments heard on Sportsnet