Arber Xhekaj's risky contract decision could backfire on Canadiens defenseman

Arber Xhekaj's decision to skip arbitration with the Montreal Canadiens is looking riskier by the day.

He passed on filing back on July 5, an option that was available to him and one he chose not to use.

TVA Sports reporter Nicolas Cloutier flagged just how different things could look right now if he'd gone that route instead.

"If Arber Xhekaj had gone to arbitration, he would have been under contract for a month already," Cloutier said.

"In hindsight, that decision made on July 5 is drawing our attention," he added.

Teammate Kirby Dach took the arbitration route this summer and already has his deal locked up because of it.

Xhekaj instead remains unsigned with training camp two weeks away, and the numbers explain why that gap matters so much.

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Arber Xhekaj may already regret major Canadiens contract decision

Montreal played 101 games last season including the playoffs, and Xhekaj sat out 23 of them entirely.

Sitting out nearly a quarter of the season isn't ordinary depth-piece treatment. It's a real signal about where Xhekaj actually stands with this coaching staff.

It gets rougher from there. Across his 78 games played, he logged under 10 minutes of ice time on 30 separate occasions.

That's nearly two out of every five appearances spent barely playing at all, according to Cloutier's own reporting.

Is it any wonder he's holding out for role guarantees instead of just signing whatever's put in front of him?

Three other defensemen, Jayden Struble, Adam Engstrom and David Reinbacher, are all fighting for that same sixth spot at camp.

Reinbacher in particular arrives with real momentum, which only makes Xhekaj's path back into the lineup more crowded.

Montreal added even more depth in July, including prospect Bogdan Konyushkov, though he's been loaned to Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod for now.

The Laval Rocket reportedly have as many as 12 defensemen in the system, a logjam that limits Xhekaj's leverage no matter what he's asking for.

My take: turning down arbitration only makes sense if you're confident a role is coming. These numbers suggest that confidence might be misplaced.

Camp is close, and Xhekaj still doesn't have the guarantee he apparently wants, or the contract he could have already had.

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