Arber Xhekaj traded: Tony Marinaro wonders if it will happen before the next draft

Arber Xhekaj has played in 55 games since the start of the season.
But when he does play, he's far from being Martin St-Louis's go-to defenseman. In fact, he's often the defenseman who doesn't see much ice time because his coach doesn't seem to trust him.

And let's be clear: this isn't a recent development.
The Sheriff celebrated his 25th birthday at the end of January, and given how things are going, one has to wonder if he really has a future in Montreal. There are other defensemen pushing up through the organization, and in the long run, it's hard to believe that Xhekaj will have a major impact for the Canadiens.
And that's why, according to Tony Marinaro, we may see the defenseman change teams before long. Marinaro wondered on the JiC show whether this could happen during draft week next June:
I wouldn't be surprised if something happens during draft week. – Tony Marinaro

“I wouldn't be surprised if something happens during draft week”https://t.co/jNDAi8n1iZ
— TVA Sports (@TVASports) March 17, 2026

The reasoning makes sense.
At some point, we'll have to consider making another call-up… because Xhekaj won't be pushing out guys like Mike Matheson, Kaiden Guhle, and Lane Hutson… who all play on the left side of the defense under normal circumstances.
There's Adam Engström, too, who seems to be on the verge of making the jump to the NHL full-time…

Now might be a good time to capitalize on Xhekaj's value before it drops to zero. We know thatthere has beeninterest in the Sheriff in the NHL in recent years, and perhaps a club will want to take a chance on continuing to develop him so he can become a regular defenseman in the Bettman circuit.

Because the facts are clear: Arber may be a fan favorite… but on the ice, he isn't able to help the team the way everyone would like him to.

And that's the problem with #72.

In a nutshell

– Bromance.

We couldn't have imagined a better scenario

Couldn't have scripted it better if we tried#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/B2mXbx98iR
— Montreal Canadiens (@CanadiensMTL) March 18, 2026
— Great.

Seth Jones takes on the blind Pepsi taste test!
Beyond the Glass with @pepsi pic.twitter.com/y7ON4acjva
— NHL (@NHL) March 18, 2026

– Yeah. He won't be happy, Jack…

“We try to take the emotion out of it. We're here to preserve a game that Jack's lucky enough to play or we're lucky enough to work in”
The Hall has responded to Jack's thoughts about the “Golden Goal” puck
(via @wyshynski) pic.twitter.com/USEST2OoeU
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) March 18, 2026