Arber Xhekaj
Montréal Canadiens Defense #72
An undrafted, six-foot-four enforcer in an era that supposedly does not have them.
| Season | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | PP | SH | GW | S | S% | TOI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 65 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -8 | 116 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 2.5 | 11:25 |
| Career | 230 | 10 | 23 | 33 | -24 | 416 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 245 | 4.1 | 14:07 |
Last Season
One goal and four points in 65 games, minus-eight, on eleven and a half minutes a night, with 116 penalty minutes — the most on the team by a distance and one of the higher totals in the league.
The Physical Game
The entire file, and it is a genuine one. Six-four and 240, and he hits harder than anyone on this roster. He fights willingly and often, he clears the front of his own net with cross-checks, and opposing forwards behave differently when he is on the ice. On a team built around small, skilled players, that is not a novelty item — it is a reason the small skilled players get left alone.
He is a fair fighter by reputation and picks his moments better than the penalty total suggests.
The Finesse Game
Very little. Ten goals in 230 career games. He does not carry the puck, cannot make a play under pressure, and the first pass is often the glass. Forty shots in sixty-five games says a defenceman who is not looking to contribute offensively and is right not to.
The skating is the limitation that caps his minutes — he is beaten wide by quick wingers and cannot recover.
The Intangibles
Undrafted, out of junior, into an NHL lineup on sheer will. That happens perhaps once every few years, and it says something real about him.
The honest limit: eleven minutes a night, sheltered, and a minus-eight regardless. He is a specialist, the specialty still has value in April, and there are nights in a long season when a coach cannot dress him.