2 Montreal Canadiens Defenseman Could Hit Trade Block This Summer
Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette says in his latest mailbag that two Montreal defenders are likely in their last days & weeks with the Habs.
I wouldn’t be surprised if (Jayden) Struble and (Arber) Xhekaj were both traded during the off-season with David Reinbacher and Adam Engstrom both looking to make the jump to the NHL from the AHL’s Laval Rocket. (GM Kent) Hughes could also be looking to add a veteran, right-shot defenceman during the off-season.
Struble has recently overtaken Xhekaj for the sixth defenseman spot, with the latter being a healthy scratch for five of the last six games and seven of the last nine going into Tuesday night.
Xhekaj is a restricted free agent on July 1, while Struble has one more year to run on his deal at a $1.41 million cap hit.
The pugilistic defender has had another hard-hitting season, but as the Habs have been ramping up their preparations for the playoffs, Xhekaj has found himself on the outside looking in more often than not. But there are quite a few teams that could use his imposing, physical presence on their back end.
"I still believe Xhekaj, 25, can be a solid third-pairing NHL defenceman with his size, mobility and toughness," writes Cowan. "At this point, it looks like his best chance of doing that would be with another team."
After a win over the Tampa Bay Lightning Tuesday night, the Canadiens are on a six-game winning streak as they continue their rise to try to challenge the Buffalo Sabres and the Bolts for top spot in the Atlantic Division.
