Arber Xhekaj disses the Toronto Maple Leafs before signing with the Montreal Canadiens
Arber Xhekaj was once an undrafted prospect coming out of the OHL and he chose to stiff the Maple Leafs in hopes of signing with his favorite team: the Canadiens.
Since arriving in the NHL back in 2022-23, Arber Xhekaj has quickly become a fan favorite in Montreal willing to drop the gloves with anybody and everybody. Throughout his first two years, Xhekaj has played in 95 total NHL games where he registered 182 total PIMs.
Recently on the Spittin Chiclet's podcast, Xhekaj shared that he snubbed the Leafs in favor of waiting for a contract from the Canadiens which he eventually received.
"Habs defenseman Arber Xhekaj says he received an offer from the Leafs after going undrafted but chose to wait it out a few more days until his favorite team, the Canadiens, called." - Leafs Latest
Unfortunately for the Maple Leafs, they were unable to land the 6'4" bruising defenseman and had to look elsewhere for their physicality. This is around when they decided to bring in Ryan Reaves, who actually fought Xhekaj and got manhandled.
The Leafs clearly would like a figure like Xhekaj on their blue line but missed the window to bring him in and now he will continue to be a fan favorite for the Canadiens for years to come.
Arber Xhekaj was originally undrafted in all of his years of eligibility for the NHL draft. However, in his final year in the OHL Xhekaj made a name for himself as a bruising defenseman with some offensive upside earning a nod to the third OHL all-star team.
He then tried out for the Canadiens and wound up winning a contract and eventually earned a spot on the roster out of training camp where he played 51 games in his rookie year. In his rookie year, he registered 101 PIMs, five goals, and 13 total points proving to be of value to the Canadiens.
Last year in his sophomore season he split time between the NHL and AHL but during his period with the Laval Rocket, Xhekaj looked dominant, and heading into year three, he looks as if he will never be heading back to the minors.
Source for Arber Xhekaj's statistics: Elite Prospects
Arber Xhekaj's profile on Elite Prospects
| POLL | ||
Did Arber Xhekaj make the right decision by choosing the Canadiens over the Maple Leafs? | ||
| Yes | 142 | 76.3 % |
| No | 44 | 23.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
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