Canadiens' Defensive Picture Appears Clearer Days Ahead Of Season Opener
Photo credit: HabsFanatics/NHL
We can officially confirm a nice turn of events for defenseman Arber Xhekaj with the Montreal Canadiens.
While Jayden Struble began training camp as the favorite to secure the sixth defenseman spot in Montreal, ahead of Arber Xhekaj, the situation has completely changed today.
Turn of events: Arber Xhekaj is now officially ahead of Jayden Struble
That's what Martin St-Louis once again confirmed this morning by deploying his new defensive pairings.
It is indeed Xhekaj who is paired with Alexandre Carrier on the third pairing.
Matheson-Dobson
Guhle-Hutson
Xhekaj-Carrier
Struble-Engstrom
Guhle-Hutson
Xhekaj-Carrier
Struble-Engstrom
Everything indicates that these will be the official pairings to start the 2025-2026 season, and everything therefore indicates that Arber Xhekaj has finally earned his spot!
Jayden Struble and Adam Engstrom will therefore be the two extras.
We find exactly the same information in today's official press release from the Montreal Canadiens.
I love it! It must be said that Arber is having an excellent camp and fully deserves to wear the A.
Speaking of this morning's Montreal Canadiens practice, let's recall a beautiful sight spotted on the ice with the return of Ivan Demidov!
As well as this..
Things are coming together more and more for Martin St-Louis, just a few days before the start of the regular season.
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 2 | 1242 ANSWERS Canadiens' Defensive Picture Appears Clearer Days Ahead Of Season Opener Which one will play the most games with the Montreal Canadiens this season, in your opinion? | ||
| Arber Xhekaj | 1038 | 83.6 % |
| Jayden Struble | 170 | 13.7 % |
| David Reinbacher | 34 | 2.7 % |
| List of polls | ||