The Canadiens Already Answered the Xhekaj Question
The Flyers-Xhekaj rumor isn't news. It's a symptom. Montreal's qualifying offer, its depth chart, and a career low in ice time already told you where this is going.
Coverage
Montreal Canadiens
The most storied franchise in hockey. Every article, every update, every game breakdown — right here.
6 articles
Canadiens by the numbers
Final 2025-26 regular season · source NHL, data as of 2026-09-28. Goals per game exclude shootout deciders. Standings · All 32 teams
- 48-24-10Record
- 106Points
- 6thNHL rank
- 3.40GF / GP
- 3.06GA / GP
- 23.1PP%
- 78.2PK%
- 51.0FO%
Possession · 5-on-5
Computed by Play-Pause Hockey from the league play-by-play, 2025-26, 1312 regular-season games. Where a rank is shown it is among the 32 clubs, 1st = best. PDO and zone starts carry none: a high PDO means hot rather than good, and zone starts are how a club is deployed rather than how well it plays. All 32 teams
- 48.6CF%23rd of 32 · Share of shot attempts
- 49.5FF%17th of 32 · Unblocked attempts
- 101.9PDOShooting % + save %, 100 is neutral
- 49.2OZS%Share of zone faceoffs in the attacking end
Skaters
| Player | GP | G | A | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Nick Suzuki | 82 | 29 | 72 | 101 |
 Cole Caufield | 81 | 51 | 37 | 88 |
 Lane Hutson | 82 | 12 | 66 | 78 |
 Juraj Slafkovský | 82 | 30 | 43 | 73 |
 Ivan Demidov | 82 | 19 | 43 | 62 |
 Noah Dobson | 80 | 12 | 35 | 47 |
 Mike Matheson | 78 | 7 | 30 | 37 |
 Oliver Kapanen | 82 | 22 | 15 | 37 |
 Zachary Bolduc | 78 | 12 | 18 | 30 |
 Alex Newhook | 42 | 13 | 12 | 25 |
 Jake Evans | 68 | 12 | 12 | 24 |
 Brendan Gallagher | 77 | 7 | 16 | 23 |
 Josh Anderson | 72 | 14 | 9 | 23 |
 Alexandre Carrier | 73 | 7 | 15 | 22 |
 Alexandre Texier | 51 | 8 | 13 | 21 |
 Phillip Danault | 75 | 6 | 11 | 17 |
 Kirby Dach | 37 | 8 | 7 | 15 |
 Jayden Struble | 59 | 2 | 10 | 12 |
 Kaiden Guhle | 39 | 2 | 9 | 11 |
 Samuel Blais | 21 | 3 | 5 | 8 |
 Joseph Veleno | 61 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
 Arber Xhekaj | 65 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
 Adam Engstrom | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 David Reinbacher | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Florian Xhekaj | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Jared Davidson | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Owen Beck | 15 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Patrik Laine | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Joshua Roy | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goalies
| Goalie | GP | W | L | SV% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Jakub Dobes | 43 | 29 | 10 | .901 | 2.78 |
 Samuel Montembeault | 25 | 10 | 8 | .872 | 3.43 |
 Jacob Fowler | 17 | 9 | 6 | .908 | 2.43 |
Canadiens on NHL EDGE
Puck and player tracking, 2025-26 regular season · source NHL EDGE. Ranks are among the 32 clubs, 1st = best; defensive-zone time ranks the least time first. All 32 teams
- 23.6mphTop skating speed19th of 32league avg 23.8
- 25Shots over 90 mph28th of 32league avg not published
- 2142Bursts over 20 mph6th of 32league avg 1762
- 3709.0miDistance skated24th of 32league avg 3727.0
- 100.6mphTop shot speed11th of 32league avg 99.7
- 2156Shots on goal24th of 32league avg 2282
- 12.9%Shooting %2nd of 32league avg 11.1
- 41.1%Offensive-zone time14th of 32league avg 41.1
- 41.4%Defensive-zone time20th of 32league avg 41.1
Advertisement
All Canadiens Coverage
Montreal Can Win the Marchenko Bid on Paper. Not for Real.
Columbus said no because it no longer needs to sell. The real problem for Kent Hughes isn't finding a winger, it's that his best chips can't close a deal against a team that finally believes in itself.
Demidov's $73M Extension Is the Anti-Carlsson
Everyone stared at the $73 million. The number that actually matters is 8, as in the percentage of the cap Demidov's deal will take. Montreal bought the same player Anaheim is paying twice as much for, a year before it had to.
Montreal's Dobes Bargain Comes With a Crease Problem
The Dobes extension is a bargain, and the underlying numbers back it. But the same signing that secures Montreal's crease also crowds it, and the bill for a three-goalie, two-spot problem comes due long before 2029-30.
Trading Gallagher Is the Quiet Day Montreal's Rebuild Actually Ended
Montreal didn't trade Brendan Gallagher to win the deal. They paid to facilitate a goodbye. The real story is what his exit marks: the last veteran link to the pre-rebuild Canadiens is gone.
The Canadiens Don't Need a Star on Defense. They Need Hutson's Stabilizer.
Montreal's blue line doesn't need more offense or a marquee name. It needs one specific kind of defenseman next to Lane Hutson. Get that wrong and the season gets shorter.