The Montreal Canadiens have trade options on the market, but defenseman Arber Xhekaj is not one of them. Not yet, anyway.
NHL Rumors: Montreal Canadiens Not Willing to Part with Arber Xhekaj
As NHLRumors.com documented, Xhekaj is still developing as a defenseman. He plays with an edge that sometimes gets him in trouble with the referees. Being physically tall in nature is great, but he needs to develop the rest of his game defensively.
Nothing is guaranteed in the NHL, even with a new two-year contract that he signed this past offseason. But that has not stopped the rumor mill from spinning about this possible trade.
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Teams Are Interested in Arber Xhekaj
Former Montreal Canadiens enforcer Georges Laraque told French-Canadian radio that teams are interested in Xhekaj, and the Canadiens should take advantage of his good trade value.
“There are teams that are interested in him and, if they were to get him out of Montreal, would be willing to play him regularly in their lineup,” Laraque said. “If they don’t play him every game, what’s the point of keeping him? Many teams want him, and he’s got good trade value. Pull the trigger.”
Look, there is a logjam on defense in Montreal. The Canadiens have Xhekaj, Kaiden Guhle, Lane Hutson, David Savard, Mike Matheson, Jayden Struble, and Justin Barron, not to mention Logan Mailloux and David Reinbacher, the latter of whom is injured, developing in the system.
Again, as TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger told TSN Radio in Montreal on Friday, there would be interest in the young forward from teams around the league.
“I’ll tell you this: if Kent Hughes ever decided to put Arber Xhekaj on the trade block, there would be double-digit teams with interest in Arber Xhekaj and not just the teams that have a clear need for 5, 6, 7th defensemen,” Dreger said.
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Would It Be Wise To Trade Xhekaj, and What Would the Return Be?
However, would it be the wisest of decisions to trade a defenseman like Arber Xhekaj and deplete an area of strength for the Montreal Canadiens?
Dennis Bernstein of the Fourth Period was on TSN Radio in Montreal on Friday. He does not think so, even though there will be interest. As he says, what will the return be for a guy like this?
“Yeah, he’s young, he’s affordable, he has size, he’s mean, which, there’s not a lot of that going around in this league. So I absolutely agree with it. But what’s it game 11? We’re talking about trading guys after you already traded guys in the off-season for the deals you got,” Bernstein said. “You got to figure out, okay, maybe you want to figure out what your top seven is, and I get it, there’s going to be interest. But what’s the return going to come back? What’s it going to be? Mid-round pick for that guy? So what’s the point?
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I don’t think the return would benefit sending the guy out unless you absolutely positively say, okay, he’s not part of our core. He’s not part of our seven, and he’s not part of our future. I don’t know, you got him on a deal at $1.3 million for this year and next year, and then he’s restricted after that, and he’s still, what, 23 years old. I wouldn’t give up on the guy, because you don’t really have that type of defenseman, like there. You need one of those guys.”
You see it firsthand from teams around the league when injuries happen and they do not have the depth or players to fill in when a player goes down. There is a cautious tale to follow, as we are seeing in Los Angeles.
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“So I don’t see giving up on this guy, because you’ve made changes already on this blue line and I would figure you’re going to trade another defenseman off this team,” Bernstein continued. “And I saw it in Los Angeles. They had depth on the right side, and then they traded on the right side defensemen, and now they really don’t have any depth when Drew Doughty goes down to an injury, so I’d be really cautious on that, because he is still young, and I just question, yes, you could trade him, but what are you going to get in return? Is it going to really better the organization?”
Arber Xhekaj was back in the lineup against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Canadiens 3-1 loss. It will be about matchups and utilization, but it is still too early to give up on a player.
However, Montreal’s best option right now is to keep Xhekaj unless GM Kent Hughes cannot refuse the return.
