Canadiens 2025-26 Player Previews: Arber Xhekaj 

St. Louis appeared on the Missing Curfew podcast this offseason and spoke about his behemoth defenceman.  

“He’s another player who, to me, has come a long way, and he can do way more than fight. You know, people call him the Sheriff in Montreal; he’s very good at that, but there’s a lot of other stuff that he’s good at as well, and as a young defenceman, the most challenging part of the league is defending. You know, defending in short space, reading the rush, and all that. You forget that he’s still very young, and that’s going to keep improving, but he’s got a nice package. Alone without his thoughtfulness, and you know he can fight; take that out of the equation, and he’s still a very young, promising defenceman. If he has to fight, he will, but he’s learned to pick his spots.”  

– Martin St. Louis

Xhekaj has the size, but he is also mobile. He can cover a lot of territory and still play a physical brand of hockey. It is simply impossible to ignore the physical element that comes with having him in the lineup. His presence alone lets the entire roster play “bigger” as they are less intimidated by their opponents because they know that if anyone takes liberties that Xhekaj, aka “the Sheriff”, will police the game. 

At the start of the playoffs, there was a debate on whether to dress Xhekaj or not. However, once he was inserted into the lineup against the Washington Capitals, Montreal was able to not only compete but also take over games physically. Despite losing the series in five games, they were combative up until the very end, and Xhekaj was integral to that physicality.

2025-26 Season Expectations 

While he wasn’t seen as being necessary every night during the regular season, his style of play became integral in the playoffs. For the Canadiens to become successful in the playoffs, they will need players who can thrive in a physical game and also intimidate opponents. Xhekaj can do that. As former Canadiens’ general manager (GM) Marc Bergevin once said, “You have players that get you to the playoffs and players that get you through them.”

Xhekaj needs to have a partner capable of moving the puck effectively out of the zone. He only had two defensive partners for whom he had an expected goals for rate above 50%: Lane Hutson and Jayden Struble. The pairing with Struble could form the basis of a very physical and effective third pairing in 2025-26. That is something Xhekaj will need management to value in order to find a permanent role. Having the two young, physical defenders capable of playing either the right- or left-hand side gives St. Louis some flexibility with regards to matchups. It also provides GM Kent Hughes the ability to shop a defenceman on the trade market to fill needs elsewhere.

With the departure of many of the Canadiens’ top penalty killers from last season, Kaiden Guhle is left to anchor the second unit, a role he took on last season. This opens the door for Xhekaj to earn more ice time by winning himself a permanent role as a penalty killer, which could also cement him on the third pairing. Xhekaj’s physicality offers a significant upside at even strength; however, he will need to find a way to play a disciplined game in a consistent manner.

Unless he can, because of the glut of young defencemen pushing their way up the depth chart, players such as Struble, David Reinbacher and even Adam Engstrom, Xhekaj will be in a heated battle for that coveted final spot on Montreal’s blue line.