Arber Xhekaj Has Surprising Trade Value, Per Canadiens Analyst

Arber Xhekaj's potential trade price tag will shock you

Just how valuable is Arber Xhekaj to the Montreal Canadiens? According to analyst Brian Wilde, he'd be "absolutely shocked" if the team were to trade the hard-nosed enforcer and fan favourite. And you won't believe what he feels the asking price for him would be.

Trading Arber Xhekaj would very likely come back to haunt the #GoHabsGo... @BWildeMTL: "I'm going to say the market for him is a 2nd round draft choice, but they're not trading him because he's a unicorn"#thesickpodcast @TonyMarinaro pic.twitter.com/1XpPf9J01u
— The Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro (@thesickpodcasts) August 22, 2025

A first-round draft pick would be the only thing they would take, to lose him. They don't need more second-rounders. I can't see him being traded, I think the organization loves him.

Wilde began the conversation on The Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro by saying that the market for Xhekaj "is a second-round draft choice. But they're not trading him, because he's a unicorn."

But then he continued, and upped the ante.

"That (a second-rounder) is not going to get a trade done, because he has a very high ceiling. I don't mean that in terms of 'first-pair or second-pair,' I mean that in terms of the usefulness that he can bring to the rink every single day as somebody that scares people, as somebody that hits people, as an enforcer."

The 6'4", 240-pound intimidating d-man handed out 180 hits last season in 70 games, while recording six points and 118 penalty minutes. The hits total might have been higher, but opposing players are extra careful not to place themselves into Xhekaj's path, whenever possible.

In addition, according to toutsurlehockey.com, of his 21 fights since arriving in the NHL, Xhekaj has 15 wins, 2 losses and 4 draws. We won't soon forget his heavyweight tilt with the NY Rangers' 6'9" beast, Matt Rempe, this past season.

Xhekaj's story is well-known by now, and inspirational: Undrafted, working at Costco during the pandemic, to earning himself a job on the Montreal Canadiens blueline.

With that purported first-rounder price tag, per Wilde, would any other team even dare try to pry him loose from the Habs?