3 Teams Who Could Offer Sheet Arber Xhekaj
We are into the middle of July and the Canadiens still haven’t signed their restricted free agents Arber Xhekaj and Justin Barron to a new contract. The Canadiens are likely trying to reach a long-term extension with Kaiden Guhle first to set the market for their defensemen and establish a benchmark, like Nick Suzuki’s contract with the forwards. It’s a savvy move by Kent Hughes, who knows the salary cap game well after years of being an agent. The issue for the Habs is if they let those players stay out there for too long, another team could come along and steal them.
The Canadiens have plenty of cap space, so the chances of any team coming along with an offer sheet are slim because they know the Habs will match. However, if a team with a lot of cap space makes that move, they could force the Habs into a decision. With their depth on defense, the Canadiens may take the draft pick compensation and move on if the return is substantial enough. With that said, let’s look at the draft pick compensation for offer sheets.
Let’s look at three teams who may test the waters on signing Arber Xhekaj to an offer sheet. We’ll assume the deal will be somewhere in the $2.1 million to $4.2 million range, as teams won’t be willing to give up a first and third round pick.
Columbus Blue Jackets
If there’s anyone bold enough to move to a different team and do an offer sheet for another Habs player, it’s Don Waddell. If you remember, Waddell’s Hurricanes are the team that offer-sheeted Jesper Kotkaniemi and stole him away from the Canadiens. This time, the Blue Jackets could use a young defenseman, much like the Hurricanes’ need for center depth back then.
The Blue Jackets have some young defensemen coming in the pipeline. David Jiricek, Denton Mateychuk, and Stanislav Svozil will make an impact at the NHL level. Unfortunately, defensemen take longer to develop in the NHL. The Blue Jackets have an older blue line, with Jack Johnson and Ivan Provorov’s contracts expiring after this upcoming season. That’ll leave them with three veteran defensemen on their roster, and unless the three prospects are ready to play full-time, they’ll need someone.
They also have Erik Gudbranson, who will likely leave in two seasons. Arber Xhekaj would be a perfect fit to anchor their bottom pair and move upwards in the lineup when needed.
Arber Xhekaj is a fan favorite in Montreal, but Flyers fans would give them a run for their level of love. No team embodies the way Xhekaj plays the game more than Philadelphia. The fanbase would embrace Xhekaj’s style and feel like a perfect fit.
The Flyers don’t have a lot of defense prospects coming, and they currently have four defensemen under contract for the 2025-26 season. Cam York will sign his restricted contract, but it seems like Erik Johnson will be going elsewhere after next season. Xhekaj would be a great fit to come and battle for a spot in the lineup, with Egor Zamula or Johnson spending time in the press box.
Let’s get crazy. What better way to kick off the rivalry for this season than the Maple Leafs offering Arber Xhekaj an offer sheet? Let’s face it, the Leafs’ defense core is soft in terms of physicality, and their recent signing of Jani Hakanpaa to add some muscle is in question after concerns about his knee injury.
It’d be a move that’d break the internet. When the Canadiens and Leafs play, there is always a narrative on social media about the game, and sometimes that centers around Xhekaj. Maple Leafs fans will make fun of Xhekaj, like last season when he and Ryan Reaves fought, and Canadiens fans fight back with the classic “You’d love him if he was on your team.”
Well, here you go. The Maple Leafs have Arber Xhekaj now, so let’s see how quickly the Leafs’ fans would change their minds about the value of the rugged defenseman.
