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Photo of NHL player Arber Xhekaj

Montreal Canadiens Logo Arber Xhekaj

Position Left Defense / Right Defense Current Team Montreal Canadiens
Shoots Left Current Contract 1 year ($1.5M CapHit)
Height 6'4" Expires 2026-27
Weight (lbs) 240 Expiry Age (Jun 30) 26
Age (DOB) 25 (Jan 30, 2001) Expiry Status RFA-arb
Drafted Undrafted
Date Team Transaction
Sep 15, 2026 Montreal Canadiens Signed 1 year @ $1.500M AAV starting in 2026-27
Oct 8, 2024 Montreal Canadiens Recalled from AHL
Oct 7, 2024 Montreal Canadiens Assigned to AHL
Jul 30, 2024 Montreal Canadiens Signed 2 years @ $1.300M AAV starting in 2024-25
Oct 4, 2021 Montreal Canadiens Signed to an entry level contract.
Status History Coming Soon

Player Card(s)



URL: https://thestanleycap.com/cdn/player_cards/20252026/arber-xhekaj-8482964.png



URL: https://thestanleycap.com/cdn/player_cards/20242025/arber-xhekaj-8482964.png



URL: https://thestanleycap.com/cdn/player_cards/20232024/arber-xhekaj-8482964.png

About Player Cards

Player cards present an infographic of a players performance using a series of Player Archetypes developed for Puckalytics.com and TheStanleyCap.com. The boxes in the rink image show the archetype ratings for the season specified in the card while the graphs to the right show the five-year trends for those archetypes.

Except for Faceoffs, the values shown are the players z-score (standard deviation from the mean) for the specific metric used to calculate the archetype values. When calculating z-scores forwards were compared to forwards and defensemen were compared to defensemen. Positive values indicate the player is above average and shaded in blue, while negative values indicate the player is below average and shaded in pink. The five year trend charts show a range of -4.0 to 4.0.

The value shown for Faceoffs is the faceoff winning percentage rather than their z-score with winning percentages below 50 in pink shades and above 50 in blue shades.

All archetypes are 5v5 except 5v4 TOI, 4v5 TOI, Skating (even strength) and Faceoffs (all situations). Archetypes use regular season data only.

Archetypes Summary
  • Sniper - Measures the to score above the expected goal rate.
  • Rebound - Measures the percent of a players shot attempts that come from rebounds (forwards only).
  • 5v4 TOI - Powerplay ice time, calculated as the percentage of his teams 5v4 ice time that the player was on the ice for.
  • Shooter - Measures whether a players points come from shots (goals or assists on rebounds from his shots).
  • Producer - Measures a players ability to produce goals and assists, adjusted for quality of teammates.
  • Playmaker - Measures whether a players points come from passes.
  • Drive - Measures a players ability to drive puck possession and generate shot attempts for his team.
  • Rush - Measures the percent of a players shot attempts that come from rush plays
  • Possession - An indicator of a players ability to improve his teams puck possession game.
  • Faceoffs - Faceoff Winning Percentage (min. 75 faceoffs taken).
  • 5v5 TOI - The percentage of his teams 5v5 TOI that the player was on the ice for.
  • Suppress - Measures a players ability to suppress opponent puck possession and shot attempts against.
  • Skating - An indicator of a players skating ability, or speed bursts above 20mph per mile skated.
  • Defend - An indicator of a players ability to suppress shot quality against.
  • 4v5 TOI - Penalty Kill ice time, calculated as the percentage of his teams 4v5 ice time that the player was on the ice for.
Data Sources
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If you have any questions, send an e-mail to the e-mail address at the top of this page.

Read Introducing Player Archetypes on HockeyAnalysis.com for more details on archetype calculations.

Core Archetypes

Season Team(s) GP TOI Producer Playmaker Shooter Sniper Rebound Rush Skating Defend
2022-23 MTL 51 0.17 -0.61 1.18 0.74 - 1.07 -0.86 0.98
2023-24 MTL 44 -0.16 -0.46 0.26 1.27 - 0.32 -0.32 0.29
2024-25 MTL 70 -1.44 -1.47 -0.70 -1.16 - 0.81 -0.26 0.92
2025-26 MTL 65 -1.39 -1.42 -0.72 -0.54 - -0.70 -0.49 -0.75

Situational and Secondary Archetypes

Season Team(s) GP TOI 5v5 TOI 5v4 TOI 4v5 TOI Possession Drive Suppress Faceoffs
2022-23 MTL 51 -0.94 -0.73 -1.93 0.19 0.75 -0.67 -
2023-24 MTL 44 -0.59 -0.70 -1.84 0.79 0.77 0.29 -
2024-25 MTL 70 -1.53 -1.46 -1.00 -0.76 -0.95 -0.02 -
2025-26 MTL 65 -2.80 -1.51 -1.74 -0.29 -1.21 1.12 -
See About Skater Archetypes for more information about skater archetypes.

5v5 Individual Stats

Season Team(s) GP TOI G/60 A/60 Pts/60 xG/60 GAE/60 Sh% xSh% Sh%AE %SA Rush %SA Reb.
2022-23 MTL 51 713:35 0.25 0.59 0.84 0.17 0.09 4.69 3.10 1.59 2.17 2.17
2023-24 MTL 44 624:12 0.29 0.67 0.96 0.12 0.17 6.00 2.46 3.54 1.41 2.82
2024-25 MTL 70 935:14 0.06 0.26 0.32 0.18 -0.12 1.49 4.20 -2.71 0.96 0.96
2025-26 MTL 65 713:23 0.08 0.25 0.34 0.13 -0.04 2.56 3.91 -1.35 0.00 1.64

5v5 On Ice Stats

Season Team(s) GP TOI SAF/60 GF/60 xGF/60 SAA/60 GA/60 xGA/60 GF% xGF% xGF Rel xGA Rel xGF% Rel
2022-23 MTL 51 713:35 39.18 2.02 2.23 44.90 2.52 3.14 44.44 41.53 -0.18 0.29 -4.27
2023-24 MTL 44 624:12 41.62 3.08 2.51 42.97 2.21 2.57 58.18 49.41 0.10 -0.13 2.31
2024-25 MTL 70 935:14 35.73 1.80 2.32 42.02 2.57 2.54 41.18 47.69 -0.36 -0.12 -2.39
2025-26 MTL 65 713:23 33.98 1.93 2.18 36.75 2.61 2.57 42.59 45.82 -0.61 -0.18 -4.43

NHL Edge Stats

Skating Shooting Zone Time
Season GP Top Speed Bursts>20/mi Avg. Speed Top Speed Avg. Speed %Long Range %Mid Range %High Danger ES DZ% ES NZ% ES OZ%
This table is for Basic and Premium subscribers only. To view please login to and/or subscribe to one of our subscription plans.

Legend

Percentile 0-25 Percentile 25-50 Percentile 50-75 Percentile 75-100
Forwards are compared with forwards and Defensemen are are compared with Defensemen.

5v5 Defense Pairs

Season
Season Teammate Team TOI GF/60 GA/60 GF% xGF/60 xGA/60 xGF% xGF Rel xGA Rel xGF% Rel
This table is for Basic and Premium subscribers only. To view please login to and/or subscribe to one of our subscription plans. 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26 2026-27 2027-28 2028-29 2030-31 2031-32 2032-33 2033-34 2034-35

Glossary

Type Statistic Definition
IndividualG/60Goals Against per 60 minutes.
IndividualA/60Assists per 60 minutes.
IndividualPts/60Points per 60 minutes.
IndividualxG/60Expected Goals per 60 minutes.
IndividualGAE/60Goals Above Expected (G/60 - xG/60).
IndividualSh%Shooting Percentage.
IndividualxSh%Expected Shooting Percentage.
IndividualSh%AEShooting percentage above expected (Sh% - xSh%).
Individual%SA RushPercentage of shot attempts determined to be on the rush.
Individual%SA Reb.Percentage of shot attempts determined to be from rebounds.
On IceSAF/60Shot Attempts For per 60 minutes.
On IceGF/60Goals For per 60 minutes.
On IcexGF/60Expected Goals For per 60 minutes.
On IceSAA/60Shot Attempts Against per 60 minutes (lower is better).
On IceGA/60Goals Against per 60 minutes (lower is better).
On IcexGA/60Expected Goals Against per 60 minutes (lower is better).
On IceGF%Goals For Percentage = Goals For / (Goals For + Goals Against)
On IcexGF%Expected Goals For Percentage = Expected Goals For / (Expected Goals For + Expected Goals Against)
On IcexGF RelxGF/60 when On Ice - xGF/60 when not On Ice.
On IcexGA RelxGA/60 when On Ice - xGA/60 when not On Ice (lower is better).
On IcexGF% RelxGF% when On Ice - xGF% when not On Ice.
Individual and On-Ice stats from Puckalytics.com (starting in 2015-16). NHL Edge Stats from edge.nhl.com (starting in 2021-22). Edge statistic definitions can be found at the Edge Stats Glossary.

News and Opinions

Current Contract

Arber Xhekaj signed a $1,500,000 1-year contract with the Montreal Canadiens and General Manager Kent Hughes on September 15, 2026 with an AAV of $1,500,000. This contract will start in 2026-27 and end after the 2026-27 season. In the first season of the contract the cap hit was equivalent to 1.44% of the salary cap.

Standard Contract (RFA) ( )  (0 ratings)

Season Age* Clause Cap Hit AAV Perf. Bonus Sign. Bonus Salary Compensation Minors Salary Status
2026-27 25 $1,500,000 $1,500,000 - - $1,500,000 $1,500,000 $1,500,000 RFA-arb
Total - - $1,500,000 $1,500,000 $1,500,000
Signed: Sep 15, 2026
Team: Montreal Canadiens
GM: Kent Hughes
Exp. Status: RFA-arb
Cap %: 1.44

Previous Contracts (show) (hide)

Arber Xhekaj signed a $2,600,000 2-year contract with the Montreal Canadiens and General Manager Kent Hughes on July 30, 2024 with an AAV of $1,300,000. This contract will start in 2024-25 and end after the 2025-26 season. In the first season of the contract the cap hit was equivalent to 1.48% of the salary cap.

Standard Contract (RFA) ( )  (0 ratings)

Season Age* Clause Cap Hit AAV Perf. Bonus Sign. Bonus Salary Compensation Minors Salary Status
2024-25 23 $1,300,000 $1,300,000 - - $1,300,000 $1,300,000 $1,300,000 RFA
2025-26 24 $1,300,000 $1,300,000 - - $1,300,000 $1,300,000 $1,300,000 RFA-arb
Total - - $2,600,000 $2,600,000 $2,600,000
Signed: July 30, 2024
Team: Montreal Canadiens
GM: Kent Hughes
Exp. Status: RFA-arb
Cap %: 1.48

Arber Xhekaj signed a $2,485,000 3-year contract with the Montreal Canadiens and General Manager Marc Bergevin on October 4, 2021 with an AAV of $828,333. This contract will start in 2021-22 and end after the 2023-24 season. In the first season of the contract the cap hit was equivalent to 1.02% of the salary cap.

Entry Level Contract ( )  (0 ratings)

Season Age* Clause Cap Hit AAV Perf. Bonus Sign. Bonus Salary Compensation Minors Salary Status
2021-22 20 $828,333 $828,333 - $80,000 $750,000 $830,000 $70,000 ELC
2022-23 21 $828,333 $828,333 - $70,000 $750,000 $820,000 $70,000 ELC
2023-24 22 $828,333 $828,333 - $60,000 $775,000 $835,000 $70,000 ELC
Total - $210,000 $2,275,000 $2,485,000 $210,000
Signed: Oct 4, 2021
Team: Montreal Canadiens
GM: Marc Bergevin
Exp. Status: RFA

Career Statistics

Regular Season Playoffs
Season League Team GP G A Pts +/- PIM Shots Sh% TOI/G GP G A Pts +/- PIM Shots Sh% TOI/G
2017-18 GOJHL St. Catharines Falcons 46 4 18 22 110 11 1 1 24
2018-19 OHL Kitchener Rangers 59 2 1 3 -28 39 4 -1 2
2019-20 OHL Kitchener Rangers 51 6 11 17 +26 88
2021-22 OHL Kitchener Rangers 18 6 11 17 +7 54
2021-22 Memorial Cup Brantford Bulldogs 5 0 5 5 +2 8
2021-22 OHL Brantford Bulldogs 33 6 11 17 +37 84 18 6 10 16 +15 50
2022-23 NHL Montréal Canadiens 51 5 8 13 -9 101 75 6.7 15:16
2023-24 NHL Montréal Canadiens 44 3 7 10 +6 81 61 4.9 15:56
2023-24 AHL Laval Rocket 17 3 8 11 +3 34
2024-25 NHL Montréal Canadiens 70 1 5 6 -13 118 69 1.4 14:37 3 +1 4 2 0.0 10:58
2025-26 NHL Montréal Canadiens 65 1 3 4 -8 116 40 2.5 11:25 13 1 1 2 +5 28 8 12.5 8:06
NHL Career 230 10 23 33 -24 416 245 4.1 14:07 16 1 1 2 +6 32 10 10.0 8:38