Prediction: Justin Barron will sign the same contract as Arber Xhekaj

Kent Hughes has settled one of the two issues he still had to finalize before turning the page on the summer season: Arber Xhekaj has signed a bridge contract that will earn him an average of 1.3 million per season for two years. He will again become a restricted free agent at the end of this contract.

Xhekaj, 23, earned $828,333 last season (but only $70,000 when he was in the American League). So, he’s “bought” himself a nice salary increase… and the assurance that this time he’ll earn the same in the NHL as he did in the AHL. Not bad for a guy who’s never been drafted!

Michael Pezzetta‘s girlfriend will certainly be there to remind him that, after taxes,escrow and the rating to be given to his agent, he’ll only have $450,000 real left, but who cares?

Kent Hughes once again proved to the entire hockey world that his past as an agent made him an excellent negotiator. Paying as little as $1.3 million for a guy whose qualities are as unique as Sheriff ‘s is in the column of excellent moves by the Habs this summer.

Remember that Jordan Harris signed a two-year bridge contract at an average annual salary of $1.4 million after his entry-level contract. Getting Xhekaj for less money than that is genius!

We can only hope that Xhekaj can stay healthy and play a style of hockey that will please coach Martin St-Louis. With Mike Matheson (and possibly Lane Hutson) in the line-up, Xhekaj won’t get many power-play minutes, so he’ll have to rely on his toughness and defensive reliability, not necessarily his slap-shop.

Can’t wait to see if Xhekaj’s next contract will be a long-term one, or if he’ll have to sign another one or two-year deal…

And whether Xhekaj will be able to buy himself regular top-four minutes before his next deal is negotiated…

Justin Barron in there
It’s July 30 and Kent Hughes has already finished his summer work. I don’t think Martin Necas and Trevor Zegras will be traded this summer… and Rutger McGroarty doesn’t seem to fit into the Montreal culture. Only Patrik Laine remains intriguing, although Pascal Vincent has probably given his new bosses the lowdown on the Finnish forward.

There’s just one more matter for the Habs: Justin Barron’s contract.

Justin Barron has yet to prove himself a true *NHLer*.

(Credit: Chris Tanouye/Freestyle Photography/Getty Images)

Barron has just completed his entry-level contract – which was slightly higher than Xhekaj’s due to his first-round selection – and is expected to sign a new contract similar to Xhekaj’s in the coming weeks. In reality, it could still go ahead in September…

Barron is barely older than Xhekaj (10 months) and already has three professional seasons under his belt(vs. two for Xhekaj). He has played 94 career games in the NHL (vs. 95 for Xhekaj)… but he has a hundred games played in the AHL(vs. 17 for Xhekaj). In short, the two defensemen share many statistical similarities.

As of today, however, Xhekaj (undrafted) is ahead of Barron (first-round pick) in the Montreal depth chart. It would therefore be surprising to see Barron sign a better contract than Xhekaj. And I don’t see the two parties coming to a long-term agreement…

If Harris got $1.4 million and Xhekaj $1.3 million, Barron will probably get around $1.25 million a season (for two years too). He’s not yet established in the NHL… and he’ll have to go through the waivers if he’s sent back to Laval.

Let’s just say that the Barron clan doesn’t have the upper hand right now…

Once Barron is signed, the Habs should have about $6 million in loot under the salary cap, without even having to place Carey Price on the LTIR.

The club would then have plenty of room to accommodate Patrik Laine’s contract. Of course, managing to shipper a bad contract to Columbus in return, or completing the deal in the hours leading up to the first game of the season, would allow the club to avoid having to place Price on the summer LTIR, giving Kent Hughes more flexibility during the season.

Warning! I’m only explaining the club’s accounting situation, not trying to predict Kent Hughes’ next move…

Overtime

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