Analyst Floats Bold Idea to Keep Arber Xhekaj in Canadiens Lineup Every Game

The man nicknamed The Sheriff seems to be a victim of the surplus of left-handed defensemen on the Montreal Canadiens' roster.

Among the left-handed defensemen, Kaiden Guhle, Noah Dobson, Lane Hutson, Mike Matheson, and Alexandre Carrier are already certain to play regularly.

The 6th and 7th defenseman spots will therefore come down to Arber Xhekaj, Jayden Struble, and David Reinbacher. In fact, the Austrian will have every opportunity to prove himself at the upcoming camp and could shake up the team's defensive hierarchy.

Nevertheless, the elder Xhekaj brother plays an important role on the team with his physical presence. Leaving him in the press box too often could ultimately be harmful not just to him, but to the whole team.

During a recent appearance on The Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro, Brian Wilde revisited an idea that has already been echoed by fans and analysts - the idea of playing Arber on the wing.

The idea isn't crazy, especially when you consider that losing a forward for 2, or even 5 minutes, is less damaging than losing one of the six dressed defensemen.

Xhekaj's lack of discipline would be a bit more forgivable, and he could also go all out in defending his teammates.

I would be very surprised to see the organization go in that direction. As Félix Forget from DLC says - who agrees with me on this topic - the Habs have more NHL-level depth on the wing than on defense.

Still, it's nice to dream and imagine a day when a line features both Arber and Florian Xhekaj with the big club.

The younger Xhekaj had a great rookie season in professional hockey with the Laval Rocket in 2024-2025. Many believe that he should and could be part of the Canadiens' roster as early as this season.