The Montreal Canadiens have re-signed the last of their restricted free agents, keeping Arber Xhekaj in the fold with a new one-year contract.
The cap hit is for $1.5 million. This is both team and player kicking the can on a potential longer-term deal down the road. Xhekaj has a chance to prove his worth, and the Canadiens get another year to evaluate where he fits in to their defensive set up.
Xhekaj was initially tendered a qualifying offer of $1.3 million for one season so the Canadiens could retain his rights as an RFA. He was eligible to elect for arbitration, but chose not to take the same path that Kirby Dach had. That decision kept him open to the possibility of receiving an offer sheet, but he remains with the Canadiens organization instead.
Xhekaj was signed as an undrafted free agent by Marc Bergevin in October of 2021. After one more season in the OHL, he jumped directly to the NHL in 2022-23, playing 51 games and scoring what still stand as career highs of five goals and 13 points. In 2025-26 he had just four points in 65 games, but his two playoff points were more than each of Noah Dobson and Jayden Struble managed, and Xhekaj led all Habs blue-liners with a +5 goal differential.
His signing keeps all seven of last year’s defencemen on the roster, setting the blue line for the new season. The team’s management has targeted size this off-season after making it to the Eastern Conference Final, so we might see Xhekaj take a more permanent spot on a team looking to shift its identity in 2026-27.
