The hostile takeover bid that could be filed against Arber Xhekaj

Maxime Truman
The hostile takeover bid that could be filed against Arber Xhekaj
Credit: Archives

The Canadiens currently have seven restricted free agents who remain unsigned. All seven of these players have received a qualifying offer from Kent Hughes and his staff, but they have not signed it—at least not as of this writing…

Of this small group, only Kirby Dach has requested that his case be reviewed by an independent arbitrator. It's certainly not a pleasant experience to see your teammates receive eight-season contracts while you're offered a two-part deal…

For the past 48 hours, everyone has been talking only about Dach, acting as if the other six players simply didn't exist.

The other six players in question are Arber Xhekaj, Brett Berard, Zachary Bolduc, Sean Farrell, Jared Davidson, and Hunter McKown.

Let's take a look at their situations.

Zachary Bolduc is the only player who was NOT eligible for arbitration. That said, it doesn't change anything now, since he didn't opt into the process.

Arber Xhekaj, for his part, decided not to exercise his right to arbitration. The most optimistic will claim it's because he didn't want to upset the Canadiens, while the most pessimistic will believe it's to preserve his right to sign a hostile offer.

In short, as of today, both Arber Xhekaj and Zachary Bolduc could receive a hostile offer at any time until December 1 (provided they don't sign a new contract by then, of course).

Brett Berard, Jared Davidson, Sean Farrell, and Hunter McKown could also be the targets of a hostile offer, but we can all agree that's unlikely to happen. Note that an offer with an annual salary of less than $1,575,969 would entitle the player to NO compensation if he were to sign it and the Habs did not match it.

Let's get back to Xhekaj and Bolduc…

Xhekaj's qualifying offer is currently $1.3 million, and Bolduc's is just $874,125. Xhekaj will become a free agent in July 2028, and Bolduc in July 2030.

Which teams might come to disrupt the Habs' plans?

Several teams might be tempted to “steal” Xhekaj from the Canadiens… and I'm pretty convinced that if a GM offers Xhekaj a multi-million-dollar contract to play a bigger role, he'll jump at the chance.

The Flames have often been linked to #72…

The Senators are always after the same players as the Canadiens, and they have a hard time attracting (and retaining) established players…

The Jets have even more trouble attracting players to Manitoba…

The Flyers, who could lose Rasmus Ristolainen in the near future, will have money to spend if the Ducks end up matching the offer made to Leo Carlsson. And Daniel Brière has proven he's not afraid to make offers like that…

The Blue Jackets need to do something to prove to their leaders that they want to win…

The Rangers have a knack for being total a**holes (and they wouldn't hesitate to make Jeff Gorton's life miserable)…

The Blues have done it (twice) to the Oilers, and they could easily do it again…

The Hurricanes came close to making one for K'Andre Miller last summer, and they've been linked to Pavel Mintyukov this summer…

The Ducks might go after anything that moves, still angry over the hostile offer made to Leo Carlsson…

In short, the Xhekaj situation could be even more interesting than the Dach situation in the coming weeks.

Note that with a hostile offer of around $3 million per season, Kent Hughes would have two options: match the offer or accept a second-round pick as compensation. At a salary of $2.3 million? We'd only be talking about a low third-round pick, though…

And what about Zachary Bolduc?

It's clear that the big contract signed by Mavrik Bourque has caught Zachary Bolduc's attention. That said, I believe both the player and the Habs agree: Zachary Bolduc still has to prove he can play consistently on a second or third line in the NHL. And I think every other GM in the league agrees with that assessment.

The big question is whether he'll sign a one-year contract… or a multi-year deal at a salary lower than Mavrik Bourque's.

But he'll remain a Montreal Canadiens player—I'm convinced of that.

As for Xhekaj, on the other hand…


In a Nutshell

– Enjoy the read.

– Hehe.

– He deserves it.

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