Florian Xhekaj's NHL spot in jeopardy after the Canadiens' latest signings

As you know, on Thursday afternoon, while the Canadiens were on their West Coast trip, general manager Kent Hughes re-claimed physical forward Sammy Blais from waivers.

Blais is therefore officially back in the Canadiens' organization!

This is accurately reported by the excellent Charles-Alexis Brisebois (from DansLesCoulisses), as the return of Samuel Blais puts Florian Xhekaj's spot in the NHL in jeopardy.

And unfortunately, it absolutely makes sense.

Let's also remember that several sources report that Kent Hughes and the Canadiens intend to recall Samuel Blais as soon as the team returns to Montreal.

This means young Xhekaj is likely to be the one who pays the price.

Also, with the signing of Alex Texier, the Habs will need to play him, which removes another spot for Florian Xhekaj, especially with the bottom six becoming congested with Veleno, Davidson, Gallagher, Anderson and Evans already in the mix.

Adding Texier and Blais will definitely increase internal competition.

These will be situations to monitor, but everything indicates that Florian Xhekaj will unfortunately have to wait before becoming a regular player for the Montreal Canadiens.

We'll keep you updated with the details, especially for today's game against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Florian Xhekaj, only 21 years old, is a 6-foot-4, 204-pound forward who was a fourth-round pick by the Montreal Canadiens in 2023 (101st overall), and who has collected 1 point in two NHL games this season, as well as 4 points in 16 AHL games.