The Montreal Canadiens’ 5-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on November 22 was memorable for plenty of reasons, but the night belonged to Florian Xhekaj in a way nobody could have scripted better.
It was his first NHL game, and it came with his brother Arber beside him. Before puck drop, the two posed for a photo together, marking the first regular-season game in Canadiens uniforms for both brothers.
That made them the 14th set of brothers to appear together in a game for Montreal, and the first since Andrei and Sergei Kostitsyn in 2007-08. Montreal’s No. 63 skated with Jake Evans and Josh Anderson, while cameras repeatedly caught their mother, Simona Xhekaj, watching every moment unfold.
Florian kept things under control for most of the night, and he even picked up his first NHL point with an assist on Anderson’s second-period goal. But the game still found its way into full rivalry mode late in the third period.
After a slashing penalty, Xhekaj dropped the gloves with Toronto defenseman Dakota Mermis in a quick, heated fight. Arber was smiling on the bench, Simona Xhekaj looked worried, and the brothers’ sister gave Florian a standing ovation.
Arber wasn’t done with the drama either. He received a misconduct at the final whistle as tensions spilled over after the horn. By then, Montreal had already wrapped up the win behind Jakub Dobes, who turned aside 24 of 26 shots.
It wasn’t a clean game by either side. Both teams were charged with 17 giveaways, and neither one exactly set the standard for responsible defensive hockey.
For Florian Xhekaj, that night was only the start of a short NHL sample last season. He appeared in five games total.
In the AHL, he played 64 games and finished with 29 points, including 17 goals, after scoring 24 goals the year before. He also added two points in five playoff games and logged 34 penalty minutes.
Looking ahead, the Canadiens will have to decide whether Xhekaj can carve out a place in the lineup, especially with Joe Veleno and Brendan Gallagher not returning. It would be surprising if he broke camp with the team, but an injury call-up would not be out of the question, particularly for games that figure to get physical.
One of those could come against the Florida Panthers, who now have Brady Tkachuk in the lineup. He has 31 points in 33 games against Montreal and has also piled up 51 penalty minutes in those matchups. The Panthers visit the Bell Center for a 1:00 PM game on Saturday, December 5.
Toronto, meanwhile, is trying to climb back into the playoff picture after missing the Spring dance last season. The new regime has already made a series of changes, including adding former Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky in net and bringing in Darren Raddysh in a sign-and-trade deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Canadiens and Maple Leafs will meet four times this season, starting with the opener on September 29.
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The twist is less about whether Montreal is listening and more about what Dach represents in those talks. His injuries, uneven play and uncertain availability have all fed into a murky valuation, and any move would almost certainly need more than just one player going the other way. The Canadiens would likely have to add more to the package, and for now the whole thing remains speculative, which is why the debate around Dach feels so much bigger than a simple trade rumor. [Read more 🡒]