Defenceman who can become a restricted free agent this summer says his shoulders will be stronger now after having surgery on both of them.
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Arber Xhekaj looked like a million bucks when he met with the media before the Canadiens’ final game this season at the Bell Centre on April 16.
The 6-foot-4, 240-pound defenceman had a fresh haircut and was wearing a custom-tailored green suit with a black turtleneck and some fancy brown shoes with a matching belt.
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He was also wearing a sling on his left shoulder, which had been operated on six days earlier.
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Xhekaj can become a restricted free agent this summer and the big questions now are how long his next contract will be and for how many million dollars. Also, how much concern should there be about Xhekaj’s shoulders after he had his right shoulder operated on last season?
The 23-year-old is coming off a three-year, US$2.485 million contract with an annual salary-cap hit of US$828,333. In 44 games this season, Xhekaj had 3-7-10 totals and 81 penalty minutes, along with a plus-6 differential while averaging 15:56 of ice time.
When he signed his first NHL contract three years ago, Xhekaj received an US$80,000 signing bonus and used some of that money to buy new appliances for his parents. He has said he hopes to make enough money in the NHL so that his mother and father can both retire. His mother, Simona, works in a garage at a Costco in Hamilton changing tires (Xhekaj used to work at the same store) and his father, Jack, is a welder for National Steel Car, building trains.
Xhekaj isn’t concerned about his shoulder problems, saying he will be ready for training camp next season and that both shoulders will be stronger moving forward.
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“My left shoulder’s been kind of bugging me throughout my career, even in junior,” Xhekaj said. “It’s always kind of been something that’s bothering me, but I never checked it. I probably should have a long time ago. It just so happened that the right one blew out last year. I never had an issue with the right side but, obviously, both shoulders — something was going on with them. But I never looked back after I got (the right shoulder) fixed. It feels great. … It honestly felt brand new. It felt even better than it was before.”
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Xhekaj’s left shoulder didn’t feel so good this season, but he wanted to keep playing after being limited to 51 games last season because of the surgery on his right shoulder. He missed seven games this season with what the team described as an upper-body injury after being checked hard by the Vegas Golden Knights’ Ivan Barbashev in a game on Nov. 16. After he recovered, Xhekaj was sent to the AHL and played 17 games with the Laval Rocket before getting called back up.
“There were a number of incidents this year where I felt (the left shoulder) shift or I felt it move,” Xhekaj said. “There were a couple of days where it was hurting, but I had to keep playing … I wanted to keep playing. That (hit from Barbashev) was one of them.
“With my shoulder bugging me throughout the year, I was kind of hiding that because I wanted to play,” Xhekaj added. “That was on me. But I think I finished off strong and that’s what matters to me.”
Xhekaj did indeed finish the season strong, playing some solid and confident hockey with veteran David Savard as his partner.
Xhekaj’s combination of size, physicality, mobility and his ability to play a solid defensive game should make him a valuable commodity moving forward. Xhekaj admitted he had to pick his spots this season when it came to dropping the gloves because of his shoulder, but he has proven to be much more than just a fighter.
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He said the tears in his shoulders were a result of his physical style of play, including hitting and fighting.
“My shoulders just naturally they were looser and the way I played it probably didn’t help,” he said. “I think now they’re fixed, they’re going to be good.”
Xhekaj admitted being sent down to Laval was a bit of a wakeup call.
“Obviously, I wasn’t happy,” he said. “Nobody’s happy to get sent down. But for me, I kind of just used it as motivation, something to work towards getting back to the NHL.”
While in Laval, Xhekaj was partnered with Logan Mailloux, who is 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds, and they had instant chemistry together. That could bode well for the Canadiens moving forward.
“I’ve never really played with a guy who I think we clicked that much that quick,” Mailloux said after making his NHL debut in the season finale when asked about Xhekaj. “We complemented each other’s games. I think he helped me, I helped him type of things. We’re hard to play against.”
Xhekaj certainly went through a lot this season.
What’s the biggest lesson he learned?
“Really, don’t take a day for granted,” he said. “You never know what’s going to happen tomorrow. So just live in the moment and don’t take anything for granted.”
scowan@postmedia.com
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