Arber Xhekaj is a restricted free agent, and the Montreal Canadiens are already fielding calls on him.
David Pagnotta reported this week that other teams have reached out about the physical blue liner, according to NHL Rumour Report's Leafs Morning Take.
Xhekaj carried a cap hit of $1,300,000 this past season, making him one of the cheapest depth defensemen still worth a phone call around the league.
David Pagnotta: Re Canadiens: Some teams have been calling about Arber Xhekaj.
He put up 4 points in 65 regular season games, a modest line for a guy who built his reputation with his fists and his gap control, not his shot.
The retention buzz got louder in the playoffs, where Xhekaj posted 2 points in 13 games and carried a plus-5 rating, his best stretch of the year.
Martin St-Louis leaned on him more as games tightened up, and Xhekaj answered with a goal and a plus-3 rating over his last 10 games.
That kind of second-half trust matters when general manager Kent Hughes has to decide whether to match an offer or let this play out.
Why Kent Hughes faces a real RFA gamble this summer
Montreal finished the regular season 48-24-10 for 106 points, good enough for sixth in a crowded division.
That kind of season buys patience, but it also raises the stakes on every roster decision, including what happens with an RFA drawing outside interest.
Xhekaj is 25. He is still young enough to keep growing into a full-time NHL role, and cheap enough that a rival could stomach an offer sheet without blinking.
Montreal's blue line is already stocked with younger, cheaper options like Kaiden Guhle and David Reinbacher, which only sharpens the question of what Xhekaj is worth to keep.
Hughes has bigger names to sign this summer, and every dollar spent retaining a fifth defenseman is a dollar he can not spend elsewhere.
Xhekaj isn't the top priority, but he's turned into a leverage chip in a summer full of tougher decisions.
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Whether Montreal matches, trades his rights, or lets another team make a run at him is still an open question with training camp still months away.
Should the Canadiens match any offer sheet to keep Arber Xhekaj?
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