Insider Links Flyers To Canadiens' Defenseman

The Montreal Canadiens are now one game under .500 and I don't see much of a shot for them making the playoffs this season. Once again, injuries have gotten in their way, but the team is still on the rise. With so much talent in their organization, there won't be enough for every young player to make the roster and have a role. This will lead to some trades and it might already be happening as soon as this season.

On 32 Thoughts: The Podcast, Elliotte Friedman discussed teams calling the Canadiens about Arber Xhekaj. Friedman said, "I wouldn't be surprised if Philly was one of those teams. I don't know if it was a (Cutter) Gautier deal or something else, but it makes a lot of sense. If Xhekaj is not going to be a Canadien, man he's a Flyer."

What Friedman said makes a lot of sense in the way that Xhekaj plays the game hard and would fit perfectly in on the back-end of the Flyers under head coach John Tortorella. Xhekaj also has the meanness that resonates with the city of Philadelphia.

The Canadiens have had Xhekaj playing in the AHL for some time now after starting the season in the NHL. It looks like he is getting the call back up to the NHL with how much he has been dominating in the minors, but that doesn't change the fact that there will become increasingly less space for him once even more young defensemen like David Reinbacher, Lane Hutson, Logan Mailloux, and Matthias Norlinder join the mix as well. Might as well get the best value for a young player that is showing his worth right now before he becomes a RFA at the end of the season. The Canadiens will be sad to see him go, but there are only a certain amount of roster spots and they have drafted very well defensively recently.