“I think Florian Xhekaj has every chance of making the team.”

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
“I think Florian Xhekaj has every chance of making the team.”
Credit: Capture d'écran | YouTube

Looking ahead to the upcoming season, the Canadiens' offense is very similar to what we saw in 2025–2026.

Since the Canadiens haven't added any players to the offense (and I'm not talking about skaters destined to play in Laval here), it's safe to assume that players from within the organization will get their chance.

And until proven otherwise, we're not talking about Michael Hage, who wants to play at Michigan next year.

Among the Rocket forwards who will be pushing to earn a spot with the Canadiens, we have to mention Florian “the Unicorn” Xhekaj.

After all, the other guy's brother has a different kind of potential than players like Owen Beck. He has a clear identity that fits the Montreal Canadiens' needs.

His second season in the AHL wasn't as productive as his first, but he's undoubtedly a more well-rounded player at this point than he was a year ago.

And according to Stu Cowan, who covers the Canadiens and was a guest on Tony Marinaro's Sick Podcast last night, it's reasonable to believe that the Canadiens will give him every possible chance to make the roster during training camp.

Of course, for that to happen, he'll need to deliver strong performances. He won't be offered a spot out of mere charity—we're all on the same page there. In particular, he'll need to perform better than he did during his tryout in 2025–2026.

But the player who was considered for playoff games against Washington in 2025 could help bolster the team.

Since Arber Xhekaj's future with the Canadiens couldn't be any less clear right now, bringing in a forward with similar skills to the defenseman could allow Kent Hughes to move on from his restricted free agent.

It just makes sense.

A year ago, I wrote that it would be Florian who, by necessity, would force Arber out of Montreal. That may still be true, if the stars were to align in favor of such a scenario for it to happen.

And that's true even though the majority of fans don't want to see the Sheriff leave.


In a nutshell

– Enjoy the show.

– How to rebuild Quebec hockey? [98.5 Sports]

– Note to self.

– A name to keep in mind.

facebook icon Share twitter icon Tweet linkedin icon Share
Copied!