The month of July is quickly winding down and as we turn our attention to August, the Montreal Canadiens still have a handful of players on their roster that are in need of new contracts.
Among those that remain restricted free agents as of July 30th is defenseman Arber Xhekaj. Xhekaj was issued a qualifying offer by the Canadiens and decided not to elect salary arbitration this summer, but both sides have yet to come to an agreement on a new contract.
With Xhekaj remaining unsigned at this point in the offseason, it's led to some questions about his future with the Montreal Canadiens, with David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reporting recently that the Philadelphia Flyers are one of the teams interested in trading for the blueliner.
Arber Xhekaj's agent opens up on contract talks with Montreal
On Wednesday, Brian Bartlett, the agent for Montreal Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj, among many other NHLers, made an appearance on The Game Plan on TSN 690 radio and spoke about where things stand on the contract front between the two sides.
According to Bartlett, both the Canadiens and Xhekaj are hoping to get something done that's best for each side. What that looks like is still a bit unclear at this point, but he urged fans not to worry as they have plenty of time to hammer out a deal before training camp begins in mid-September.
"On the flip side of that coin is Montreal has a lot of really good players. A lot of good players at forward, a lot of good players at defense and at some point, it's trying to figure out how that logjam works itself out. What's the best way to have the most productive team. I think we've all been through this enough that we understand the Montreal Canadiens are going to do what's best for the Montreal Canadiens. Arber Xhekaj is going to do what's best for Xhekaj." Bartlett said.
He added, "I think there's a very large world where those Venn diagrams overlap and we're optimistic that we end up in kind of overlapping circle where it's good for Montreal and good for Arber. But, we still got a lot of time until training camp. There's no panic on our end, I don't think there's any panic on Montreal's end."
Xhekaj's agent also shared his client's affinity for the city of Montreal and the Canadiens organization, saying he loves being a Hab, loves the fan base and the coaching staff. Bartlett went on to add that everyone is hopeful that they can work towards a resolution that'll keep Arber Xhekaj in Montreal.
"Arber loves Montreal. He loves playing in Montreal. He loves the fans, he loves the city, loves the atmosphere, the coaching staff, development staff from Marty [St. Louis] down to Adam Nicholas, to everybody. He's become a better hockey player there and it's an amazing place to play. So our hope kind of collectively, I think Arber's, ours, everybody's is that we can find a way to make it work in Montreal here." Bartlett said.
While money isn't an issue here at all, given the Canadiens have $9.78 million in cap space and can spend ten percent above the cap ceiling, as long as their cap compliant by opening night, the big question is - will there even be room for Arber Xhekaj on the roster?
Something will need to be done about the Canadiens' defensive logjam before the 2026-27 season begins. In addition to Arber Xhekaj fighting for his place in the lineup, the Canadiens have Jayden Struble who is looking to do the same. Meanwhile, Adam Engstrom, David Reinbacher and Maksymilian Szuber will all be pushing for NHL minutes this coming season.
At the end of the day, this is a good problem to have as the Canadiens stand a good chance to land a decent asset in return, if they do decide to go down the trade route with Arber Xhekaj or Jayden Struble, or another blueliner in their system, in order to clear up that aforementioned logjam.