The Montreal Canadiens announced on Tuesday that defender Arber Xhekaj will miss the remainder of the season after needing shoulder surgery.
The surgery will occur on Wednesday.
The 23-year-old is in his second professional season. He played 44 NHL games this season, with three goals and seven assists. He also played 17 games for the Laval Rocket in the American Hockey League, scoring three goals and adding eight assists.
The shoulder injury occurred in the game on April 4 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The team says that Xhekaj should be ready and recovered in time for next season’s training camp.
The Canadiens have already had a season-ending injury to Kirby Dach. Christian Dvorak was expected to miss the rest of the season but has been upgraded to day-to-day. Kaiden Guhle is also out with an upper-body injury. The team’s next game is Tuesday against the Philadelphia Flyers. There are five games remaining in the season.
