A new detail has changed the way Arber Xhekaj’s one-year deal looks.
For much of the summer, the assumption was that Kent Hughes had kept the Canadiens defenseman on a short contract by design. But Nicolas Cloutier says that wasn’t the case. The one-year term was not imposed on Xhekaj.
Cloutier laid it out Wednesday morning: “Back to the negotiation: nobody snubbed anyone.
The Xhekaj camp let the summer play out to see whether a trade would unclog the blue line.
The one-year deal?
We should not assume the Canadiens imposed it.
Apparently, several scenarios were on the table, even some medium-term options.”
That shifts the story. Instead of being forced into a short deal, Xhekaj and his agent appear to have chosen the path themselves, waiting to see whether Montreal’s blue-line situation would clear up.
There was logic to that wait. David Reinbacher and Adam Engström continue to move forward in the organization, and Xhekaj is aware of the pressure that creates. A trade would have helped open things up on defense, and that possibility was enough for his camp to let the summer develop.
Kaiden Guhle’s absence, which is expected to last four to five weeks, now gives Xhekaj a chance to step in right away. Still, the concern remains obvious: he was taken out of the lineup 23 times over 101 games last season, and he has little reason to want another year of that kind of instability.
The upside for Xhekaj is clear. His physical edge and his willingness to defend teammates have already earned him plenty of respect. If he puts together a strong season, he could put himself in a much better position when negotiations come back around next summer.
So the one-year deal wasn’t simply something done to him. It was a calculated choice.
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