Popular Post RWJC Posted August 25 Popular Post Share Posted August 25 (edited) Canadiens Defenseman Arber Xhekaj Shunned Offer From Maple Leafs Dave Litman Saturday, August 24, 2024 After a strong final season in junior hockey in 2021-22, undrafted hard-nosed defenseman Arber Xhekaj was holding out hope that his favorite team, the Montreal Canadiens would come calling. And as he tells the story now, on the Spittin' Chiclets podcast, the Toronto Maple Leafs made him an offer first, but he didn't accept it, holding out for Montreal. In addition to the Leafs, the Florida Panthers also called and he considered going there, but he knew that the Habs were interested, and a few days later they did make Xhekaj an offer to come to camp, and the rest is history. The 23-year-old, 6'4", 238-pounder has been a rough and tumble third-pairing d-man for the Canadiens the past couple of seasons, though his 2023-24 campaign was cut short due to a couple of injuries, finally ending with shoulder surgery in early April. In 44 games, he recorded 10 points, a plus/minus rating of +6 and a punishing 145 hits and 81 penalty minutes in almost 16 minutes a night. His rookie season saw him register 159 hits in 51 games, along with 101 penalty minutes, 13 points and a -9 rating. Xhekaj signed a new two-year deal with the Habs this summer with a $1.3 million cap hit, and also watched his younger brother Florian get drafted by Montreal in the 4th round of the NHL Entry Draft. The 20-year-old has already signed his three-year entry-level deal. The Xhekajs were born in Hamilton, Ontario, and moved to Toronto as a teenager, but they were obviously not Maple Leaf fans in their youth, preferring the Habs. https://www.nhltraderumors.me/2024/08/canadiens-defenseman-arber-xhekaj.html Edited August 25 by RWJC 5 1 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Coconuts Posted August 25 Popular Post Share Posted August 25 Ahh yes, fuck the Leafs 4 5 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Sophomore Jinx Posted August 25 Popular Post Share Posted August 25 (edited) But think of all the fun he will be missing with all of the guys, when they get punted from the playoffs every year nhl-memes-playoffs-week-3-50.mp4 Edited August 25 by Sophomore Jinx 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Canuck You Posted August 25 Popular Post Share Posted August 25 ' ......and and and then Toronto offered me a contract!'... 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenTercel Posted August 25 Share Posted August 25 Nice to have a "feel good" story in today's news landscape. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammertime Posted August 26 Share Posted August 26 slow news. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenMaverick Posted August 26 Share Posted August 26 And everybody clapped Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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