Maybe Montreal Needs Xhekaj More Than They Thought
Hockey has a habit of teaching lessons in real time. One night, you’ve got a certain set of hands on the blue line; the next, an upper‑body injury to Alexandre Carrier forces a rethink, and suddenly a player who’s been on the fringe gets a spotlight. That’s Arber Xhekaj’s exact script: scratched half the season, used sparingly, and now asked to move from shadows into a bona fide role. It’s ugly, urgent, and perfectly instructive about how teams discover who they really are.
The Canadiens are going to miss Carrier.
Let’s be blunt about what Carrier leaves behind. He’s a 29‑year‑old taking nearly 20 minutes a night, a penalty‑killer, and one of the team’s most committed shot‑blockers (155 on the year). He’s right‑handed, dependable, and the kind of player whose absence creates mismatches in deployment—especially with Noah Dobson the only other righty available. That’s not a small hole to fill.
Can Xhekaj fill Carrier’s spot?
Enter Xhekaj: 6‑4, 240 pounds, loud and physical—the sort of profile that makes you think “brawler” before you even watch the tape. He’s averaged barely 11 minutes this season and was scratched six games in a row, so calling this a promotion is generous. But there’s a reason Martin St. Louis is willing to slide him over to Guhle’s right side: when Xhekaj is engaged and simple—gap tight, willing to throw his weight around—he brings a rough equilibrium to a lineup that can sometimes look too prettified for its own good.
Is this his big chance? Possibly. The coaching message is exquisitely low‑key: stack good shifts, don’t marinate in the bad ones, and keep the game simple. That’s exactly the script for a player whose strengths are finite but meaningful: physical presence, zone clearing, and throwing opposing forwards off their stride. If he can translate that into consistent, mistake‑light shifts, he won’t merely be replacing Carrier’s toughness—he’ll be providing a different, complementary dimension.
Xhekaj can’t be Carrier, but he can help the Canadiens.
Xhekaj can’t fully replicate Carrier’s PK chops or his shot‑blocking totals overnight. The club may need to restructure minutes—expect juggling of pairings and possible looks for Adam Engstrom, who’s been lighting it up with Laval and offers a puck‑moving option if Montreal wants to offset the brute force Xhekaj brings.
This is also a test of organizational patience. Does Montreal let Xhekaj grow into responsibility, or will the next hiccup push him back into a scratch list? St. Louis’ measured coaching cues suggest the former: simplicity, repetition, and confidence. For Xhekaj, that’s exactly the runway he needs.
So maybe Montreal needs him more than they thought. Not because he replaces Carrier shift-for-shift, but because his arrival forces the team to reckon with identity—do they double down on grit, or try to paper over gaps with lineup tweaks? Watch the next dozen games; they’ll tell you which answer this season really values.