Will the Montreal Canadiens Trade Arber Xhekaj for a Second-Line Center?

The Montreal Canadiens may have finally found a way to turn their surplus of young defencemen into the second-line center they desperately need, but it could require sacrificing one of the most distinctive players on their roster.

Marco D’Amico recently reported on the The Starr & D’Amico Show that some NHL teams have been calling about Arber Xhekaj. That does not mean Kent Hughes is actively shopping the popular defenceman, but it confirms something important: the rest of the league recognizes that the “Sheriff” offers more than fighting majors and highlight-reel hits.

Xhekaj possesses a combination of size, intimidation, mobility and affordability that is increasingly difficult to find. The real question is not whether teams want him. It is whether Montreal can use that interest to help acquire a legitimate second-line center.

My answer is yes, with one major qualification. Xhekaj can strengthen a package for a 2C, but he is unlikely to be the centrepiece of one. For Montreal to acquire a young, established top-six center with contractual control, Hughes would almost certainly have to add a first-round pick, a high-level prospect or another valuable roster player.

Why Arber Xhekaj Has Become a Valuable Canadiens Trade Chip

Xhekaj finished the 2025-26 regular season with one goal and four points in 65 games. Those offensive totals will not drive his trade value, but his physical impact certainly will. The 6-foot-4, 240-pound defenceman led Montreal with 148 hits and 116 penalty minutes, with his penalty total ranking fifth in the NHL. He also appeared in 13 playoff games and scored his first career postseason goal.

Those numbers illustrate what makes Xhekaj different from the Canadiens’ other young defencemen. Jayden Struble can play a hard, responsible game, while Adam Engstrom, David Reinbacher and other prospects provide varying levels of mobility and puck-moving ability. None of them, however, duplicates the psychological effect Xhekaj can have on a game.

Opposing forwards know when Xhekaj is on the ice. Skilled Canadiens players know someone is available to answer when a game becomes hostile. That value is difficult to quantify, but it becomes more noticeable during a physical playoff series.

Xhekaj has also shown that he can complement an elite puck-moving defenceman. During the 2024-25 season, the Xhekaj–Lane Hutson pairing recorded a reported 55.12 percent Corsi share. That means Montreal controlled more than 55 percent of all shot attempts during their five-on-five minutes together. However, that result should be treated as encouraging evidence rather than proof that the pairing will dominate over a larger sample.

Hutson also publicly praised Xhekaj during the 2026 playoffs, pointing to his confidence, physical play, active stick and ability to disrupt opposing attackers.

What Arber Xhekaj Is Really Worth in a Second-Line Center Trade

I created the following trade-value model to estimate how NHL teams may assess Xhekaj.

Trade-value factor	Weight	Score out of 10	Weighted value
Physicality and attribute scarcity	25%	9.0	2.25
Age and remaining team control	20%	8.0	1.60
Five-on-five and pairing utility	20%	7.5	1.50
Contract and acquisition cost	20%	6.5	1.30
Offensive production	15%	3.5	0.53
Overall trade-value score	100%		7.18 out of 10

A 7.18 score represents a useful and desirable NHL asset, but not one capable of returning an established second-line center by himself.

For a younger center who has upside but remains somewhat unproven, a framework involving Xhekaj, a second-round pick and a secondary prospect could generate a serious conversation. For a proven 55-to-70-point center under long-term control, the cost would likely rise to Xhekaj, a first-round selection and a premium prospect or young NHL player.

For an elite center, Xhekaj would probably be the third or fourth component of the offer rather than the player driving the transaction.

The Salary-Cap Argument for Packaging Xhekaj

Xhekaj is currently a restricted free agent after completing a contract carrying a $1.3 million annual cap hit. Montreal issued him a qualifying offer, retaining his negotiating rights.

PuckPedia currently projects the Canadiens to have approximately $13.38 million in cap space, based on a 20-player roster under the NHL’s $104 million ceiling. Montreal also has approximately $4.35 million in potential performance bonuses, meaning its practical cushion could be less comfortable than the headline number suggests.

Here is an original cap calculation using three hypothetical scenarios:

Hypothetical scenario	Estimated cap space remaining
Re-sign Xhekaj at $2.5M and acquire a $7M center	$3.88M
Trade Xhekaj, acquire a $7M center and add a $1M replacement defenceman	$5.38M
Re-sign Xhekaj at $2.5M and acquire an $8M center	$2.88M

These calculations exclude any salary Montreal might send away in the trade and use PuckPedia’s current cap-space estimate as the starting point. They show that moving Xhekaj would create only modest additional flexibility. The primary reason to trade him would therefore be asset value and roster construction, not cap relief.

Why Kent Hughes Should Be Careful

The Canadiens have enough defensive depth to consider moving Xhekaj, but possessing depth does not automatically make him expendable.

Sportsnet’s Eric Engels recently wrote that he was not convinced Xhekaj or Struble would be moved, suggesting Montreal could be more likely to include a prospect such as Engstrom or Reinbacher if Hughes finds his preferred center. That serves as an important counterpoint to the current speculation.

My personal view is that Hughes should listen, but he should not trade Xhekaj simply because another defenceman can occupy his lineup spot. Montreal can replace his minutes more easily than it can replace his identity.

A playoff roster needs players who can retrieve pucks, move possession forward and defend through structure. It also needs players who make opponents uncomfortable. Xhekaj gives Montreal an edge that its defence corps otherwise lacks.

That does not make him untouchable. If including Xhekaj allows the Canadiens to acquire a genuine second-line center who can play behind Nick Suzuki for several seasons, the positional upgrade would probably outweigh the loss. Center is the more valuable position, and Montreal’s championship window will depend heavily on whether it can build a dangerous second scoring line around Ivan Demidov.

But Xhekaj should not be sacrificed for another temporary experiment, fading veteran or middle-six player being marketed as a solution. Hughes should only put the Sheriff into a package when the returning center is clearly capable of changing Montreal’s offensive ceiling.

Rumour credibility: 7 out of 10
Likelihood Xhekaj is discussed in 2C negotiations: 8 out of 10
Likelihood Xhekaj is traded this offseason: 4 out of 10
Likelihood Xhekaj alone returns a legitimate 2C: 1 out of 10

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