Arber Xhekaj on the attack: “It can happen,” says Martin St-Louis

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
Arber Xhekaj on the attack: “It can happen,” says Martin St-Louis
Credit: Arianne Bergeron/NHLI via Getty Images

Could Arber Xhekaj do what he did once during the 2025–2026 season—play on offense?

The question was posed to Martin St-Louis during his press conference today. And the coach went further than I expected on the subject of Xhekaj.

Basically, the coach didn't rule it out.

St-Louis said he wasn't afraid to do that, but that it's not something that concerns him either. And right after that, he brought up a scenario.

Noting that the team has seven defensemen, St-Louis said that to keep a specific element in the lineup (Xhekaj's physicality, perhaps?), the idea of moving Arber to the wing could make sense.

“Is it possible? It could happen.”—Martin St-Louis on the possibility of seeing Arber Xhekaj on the wing.

The head coach, however, made a point of reiterating that the Canadiens still view Xhekaj as a defenseman. The goal here is not to move him to a different position, as far as the Habs are concerned.

The goal is to give the team more options by leveraging his strengths.

In any case, Xhekaj isn't fooled: he knows full well that the Canadiens don't have a great deal of confidence in him. His current contract is proof of that.

He may have had the potential to sign a medium-term deal (according to Nicolas Cloutier of TVA Sports), but the fact remains that it wouldn't have moved him up the pecking order—or into the coach's good graces.

He knows that, no matter what role he's given with the Canadiens, he'll have to do his best to keep his spot on the team's roster—and to get playing time when he's on the ice.

Training camp will be crucial for him, and he'll need to take advantage of Kaiden Guhle's injury to stand out.


In a nutshell

– Contract in Boston.

– Note.

– Stay tuned.

– A guy skating alone… is it okay to report that?

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