Canadiens Announce Last-Minute Change on Offense, Hinting at Florian Xhekaj's Fate
Photo credit: NHL
Fans of brothers Arber and Florian Xhekaj must be loving the start of the Montreal Canadiens' training camp.
Both were initially placed in "outside" chairs, away from the regular Canadiens lineup, but both are seriously surprising observers with their strong performances.
We spoke about Arber in recent hours:
He has just been moved to a new group and placed alongside Alexandre Carrier, on the Canadiens' third defensive pairing.
In other words, he's now in the 6th defenseman's chair for the Habs and is currently the favorite to start the season as a regular defenseman in Montreal, ahead of Jayden Struble and David Reinbacher.
But that's not all!
An unexpected group change also for Florian Xhekaj
Martin St-Louis and the Canadiens' management really seem to like what they're seeing from the Xhekaj brothers right now.
It was now Florian Xhekaj's turn to get an opportunity on a regular line, alongside Zachary Bolduc and Alex Newhook (he replaces Owen Beck, who held that spot at the start of camp).
That's another major storyline to follow.
"As for the other Xhekaj brother, Florian, well, we notice that he's in Group B, along with Alex Newhook and Zachary Bolduc.
It's with those two players that there's currently a spot to be filled, so it's positive for Florian Xhekaj to be there.
It was Owen Beck who had that place earlier this week, but now he's been separated from Newhook and Bolduc, since he's now in Group A."
- Mathis Therrien, DLC
It's with those two players that there's currently a spot to be filled, so it's positive for Florian Xhekaj to be there.
It was Owen Beck who had that place earlier this week, but now he's been separated from Newhook and Bolduc, since he's now in Group A."
- Mathis Therrien, DLC
As Mathis points out, it's extremely interesting to see Florian Xhekaj with Newhook and Bolduc, because it's probably the only "spot" currently available on the Montreal Canadiens' roster to start the season.
The line of Slafkovsky, Suzuki, and Caufield is pretty much set.
The line of Laine, Dach, and Demidov is pretty much set.
The line of Gallagher, Evans, and Anderson is pretty much set.
So there may be one spot left with Newhook and Bolduc.
Do you think Florian Xhekaj could take that spot right from the start of the 2025-26 regular season?
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 22 | 1790 ANSWERS Canadiens Announce Last-Minute Change on Offense, Hinting at Florian Xhekaj's Fate Which one is more likely to start the season with the Montreal Canadiens, in your opinion? | ||
| Florian Xhekaj | 728 | 40.7 % |
| Oliver Kapanen | 597 | 33.4 % |
| Owen Beck | 465 | 26 % |
| List of polls | ||
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