Canadiens May Have Seen Enough of Arber Xhekaj; Official Announcement Expected Soon

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Elias Edmonson
October 30, 2024 (7:45 PM)

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As we mentioned in recent hours, several changes occurred today with the Montreal Canadiens.

On offense, Emil Heineman has been promoted to the first line, Alex Newhook has been moved to the third line, and Oliver Kapanen received a significant vote of confidence from Martin St-Louis.

On defense, the Canadiens announced that Justin Barron and Kaiden Guhle will travel with the team to Washington, and both defensemen are expected to return to the lineup as soon as tomorrow night.

Obviously, these returns come with big decisions, and it seems MSL has made his choice.

Arber Xhekaj returns as the 7th defenseman, as Martin St-Louis has seen enough for now

During the morning practice, "the Sheriff" was paired with Logan Mailloux, forming what many considered the «4th» defensive pair.

This was confirmed minutes later with Mailloux's reassignment to the Laval Rocket:

Xhekaj now finds himself alone, as an «extra» defenseman without a partner.

It certainly looks like Xhekaj will be OUT tomorrow night in Washington.

We await the official announcement, which is expected tomorrow morning, but all signs point to the Canadiens having seen enough for now, with Xhekaj headed straight back to the stands.

This is significant, and here's why.

Arber Xhekaj has never been chosen by Martin St-Louis this season. Never.

Each time he's been inserted into the lineup, it was due to injuries.

At the season's start, Jayden Struble was injured, so "the Sheriff" filled in. Then, when Struble returned, Xhekaj was benched, only returning when injuries piled up for Michael Matheson, Kaiden Guhle, and Justin Barron.

Clearly, Xhekaj is currently the 7th defenseman when everyone is healthy.

This raises big questions about Arber Xhekaj's future with the Montreal Canadiens, as many believe he deserves better than just being a 7th defenseman.

A situation to follow in the coming hours.