Arber Xhekaj is heading into training camp as a pending restricted free agent, and the Montreal Canadiens have no interest in cashing in early.
That’s the word coming out of his camp this week, straight from his own agent.
Brian Bartlett didn’t dodge the trade buzz. He addressed it head-on.
“He loves playing in Montreal, he loves the fans, he loves the city,” Bartlett said. “Our hope collectively is that we can find a way to make it work in Montreal.”
Multiple teams have called about Xhekaj over the last few weeks, according to a DFO Rundown report from David Pagnotta. The Canadiens have valued him enough to say no.
That tracks. Xhekaj carries a cap hit of just $1.3 million, a number that looks like a bargain for a defenseman who plays with an edge nobody wants to face in April.
He posted four points in 65 games this season—hardly the reason to keep him. His value lives in the corners, on the blue line, and in a room that trusts him.
Why Xhekaj’s modest numbers still matter to Montreal
The scoring line doesn’t tell the story. Over 13 playoff games, Xhekaj put up two points and finished a plus-5, physical numbers a shutdown defenseman is supposed to produce.
Compare that to his regular-season mark of a minus-8, and you get a player who raises his game exactly when the stakes climb. That’s not nothing.
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Bartlett wasn’t shy about the business side either. “The Montreal Canadiens are going to do what’s best for them, and Arber Xhekaj will do what’s best for him,” he said. “We still have a lot of time until training camp, there’s no panic.”
No panic yet. But cheap, physical defensemen who play bigger in the playoffs than the regular season tend to get expensive fast once term talks start.
Trading him now for magic beans would be a mistake, and it sounds like Kent Hughes agrees. Holding a cost-controlled piece like Xhekaj through a run like the one the Canadiens just had isn’t a coincidence.
Montreal finished the season 48-24-10 for 106 points, sixth overall in the league under Martin St-Louis. Depth like Xhekaj’s is part of why that record happened.
Training camp is still months away, and Bartlett made clear both sides have time to figure this out. Whether the runway stays quiet is a different question entirely.