Canadiens sign Arber Xhekaj to one-year, $1.5M deal
Montreal has its final restricted free agent under contract as the 25-year-old defenseman returns for the 2026-27 season.
The Montreal Canadiens have signed defenseman Arber Xhekaj to a one-year, $1.5 million contract, resolving their final restricted free-agent negotiation before training camp.
Xhekaj, 25, has spent his entire professional career in the Canadiens organization. He joined Montreal as an undrafted free agent in 2021 and reached the NHL at the start of the 2022-23 season. His only extended AHL assignment was a 17-game stint with the Laval Rocket in 2023-24.
Through the 2025-26 season, Xhekaj had 10 goals and 33 points in 230 NHL regular-season games. The one-year agreement keeps him with Montreal for the 2026-27 season after a summer in which his name surfaced in trade speculation.
