Anyone wondering why Arber Xhekaj is still without a new deal in Montreal should start with the bigger picture: he’s not the only restricted free agent the Canadiens still need to sort out. Forward Zachary Bolduc is also unsigned, and there’s no real reason to think the organization has lost track of either player.
The more interesting part is what Montreal’s recent choices say about Xhekaj’s place in the lineup. The Canadiens may still like prospect David Reinbacher, and TVA journalist Anthony Martineau has said the team hopes Reinbacher can win a roster spot out of training camp.
But when the games mattered most, Montreal leaned toward Xhekaj instead. Even with Noah Dobson injured in Game 80 against the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Habs did not turn to the right-handed Austrian.
They kept using the left-handed Xhekaj, alongside Jayden Struble and Kaiden Guhle for most of his limited playoff workload.
That workload was tiny, but it still told a story. Xhekaj played 105:12 in the playoffs, or 8:06 per game, which was down from his regular-season average of 11:25.
That number was also lower than his 2024-25 average of 14:37. So yes, his ice time has gone the wrong way.
Still, the Canadiens chose him over other options when the pressure was highest, which is a step up from the way Martin St. Louis handled him in the first round against the Washington Capitals.
Xhekaj dressed only for Game 3 there, almost as an emergency measure.
And that one game mattered. Montreal added physicality, won, and cut the series deficit to 2-1.
The move seemed to tilt momentum their way, too, because the Canadiens led Game 4 in the third period before Tom Wilson’s hit on Alexandre Carrier indirectly led to the tying goal and, eventually, a five-game loss that got away from them. If anything, that sequence should have pushed Montreal toward using Xhekaj more in 2025-26, not less.
Instead, the team improved overall, which cuts both ways: it suggests the Canadiens may not value Xhekaj as highly as his supporters would like, but it also shows their broader plan is working.
Even so, Montreal would be taking a risk if it simply moved on. The club re-signed Kirby Dach, even though the deal was underwhelming, and only for one season, leaving him on track to reach unrestricted free agency next summer. Xhekaj is another piece the Canadiens should make sure they get real value from before anything else happens.
A trade has been floated, including in a July 24, 2026 Montreal Gazette report, but that still feels unlikely. Arber’s younger brother, Florian, is already in the organization after the Canadiens went off the board to draft him in the fourth round in 2024.
That connection matters, and it makes sense that Arber would want to stay, especially with Florian projected to become a bottom-six forward at some point. Montreal has clearly invested in making this work, and it still seems to want Arber in the picture in some form.
The question is price. The Canadiens have already handed Xhekaj a qualifying offer worth $1.3 million, which matches his previous cap hit over the last two-year contract.
That gives him reason to ask for more. The most obvious comparison is Struble, who signed a two-year, $2.83 million deal last summer as an RFA and carries a $1,412,500 cap hit.
That’s probably the range Montreal is aiming for, with $1.5 million looking like the natural middle ground. A two-year term also fits.
Xhekaj had the right to file for arbitration but chose not to, which suggests he is at least comfortable staying put. And with Dach’s eventual one-year, $3.6 million extension potentially keeping him from unrestricted free agency, Montreal could be just as comfortable giving Xhekaj another two-year deal and revisiting everything when it expires. That would let both sides reassess later: Xhekaj could look elsewhere, and the Canadiens could see where Reinbacher stands by then.
Reinbacher may not need that much time to become a regular, but he is not there yet. Xhekaj is in a similar spot, at least in the Canadiens’ eyes.
Even so, Montreal had to use him to get out of Round 1 this spring. That should still be part of the conversation now.
In Other News...
Kaiden Guhle Could Be The Canadiens Blue Line Answer At Last
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The encouraging part for the Canadiens is that Guhle did not do it alone. His work beside Lane Hutson showed real promise, and the two are expected to keep forming a defensive pair when next season begins. For a blue line that has spent years searching for reliable answers, that kind of chemistry matters, especially when it comes from a player whose development has already been tested so many times. [Read more 🡒]
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Montreals handling of Laine only sharpened that uncertainty. He barely got on the ice for the Canadiens, then a core-muscle injury sent him to surgery and kept him out for months, leaving his return to form very much an open question. For Winnipeg, the appeal is obvious: there is still a version of Laine that fits the franchises history and could help in the right role. The risk, of course, is figuring out whether that player is still there at all. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Fans Wont Like Where This Arber Xhekaj Buzz Is Going
Kaiden Xhekaj remains a name the Canadiens still value, but the contract picture around him has not come together yet. The 21-year-old is a restricted free agent for the next two years before he would reach unrestricted status in 2028, and the fact that he did not file for arbitration has left the process open-ended rather than headed toward a clear deadline.
The uncertainty is made a little more noticeable by the way his role shrank last season, with his ice time dipping to a career-low 11:25 in 65 games and dropping even further in the playoffs. Montreal would prefer to sort out a deal and keep the situation from lingering, but for now the sides are still working without a finished agreement in place. [Read more 🡒]