The Calgary Flames’ name keeps coming up in the Arber Xhekaj conversation, but the picture around that interest is anything but settled.
Montreal Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj has been linked to Calgary as a possible trade target, with the Flames also mentioned alongside the Philadelphia Flyers as a potential suitor. Still, the reporting around Calgary is split: some indicate the Flames are in, while others suggest they were involved and may no longer be pressing ahead.
Herb Zurkowsky of the Montreal Gazette reported that Calgary’s interest goes back to the March trade deadline, which is a pretty clear sign the Flames have had Xhekaj on their radar for a while. That kind of timeline usually says a team sees a specific fit, and Xhekaj checks a box plenty of clubs are chasing. He’s a 6-foot-4, 240-pound restricted free agent who has struggled to lock down a steady role on a crowded Canadiens blue line, but he still brings the kind of physical, defensively reliable game that tends to draw attention.
The question is whether Calgary still needs him.
Recent reporting points to a possible cooling of that pursuit after the Flames acquired Jake Middleton from the Minnesota Wild as part of the Blake Coleman trade. Middleton gives Calgary a similar kind of player on the left side: big, physical, and comfortable in a stay-at-home role. That could mean the Flames no longer feel the same urgency to spend assets on Xhekaj.
None of that means Montreal would be eager to move him cheaply. If the Canadiens decide to deal Xhekaj, they want a strong return, and GM Kent Hughes could have enough interest around the league to make that possible. It’s not a simple or low-risk trade from Montreal’s side.
Xhekaj wants to stay, and the Canadiens have said they want to keep him. But with a deep defense corps, Montreal is also in the kind of position where depth can turn into trade value fast.
For now, Calgary reads more as a lukewarm possibility than a front-runner. The interest has been real, but the Middleton move gives the Flames room to step back if the price gets too high. That doesn’t eliminate them from the picture, but it may leave Philadelphia, or another club entirely, with the cleaner path if Montreal chooses to make Xhekaj available.
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