One of the questions for the Montreal Canadiens as the calendar turns from July to August is what they are going to do with restricted free agent Arber Xhekaj. The defenseman is a restricted free agent and reportedly wants to stay in Montreal, but the Canadiens have found themselves in a tough position with their blueline.
They have essentially two issues at play here that are making it tough on general manager Kent Hughes. The first is that they don't have much balance between left-handed and right-handed defensemen, with only Noah Dobson and Jayden Struble right-handed out of the seven defensemen on the Canadiens roster last season.
On top of that, they have two prospects that are seemingly ready to make the jump to the NHL in Adam Engstrom and David Reinbacher. For the Canadiens, it is creating an issue of how to manage all this depth and put together the best blueline, not only for this season but moving forward.
Montreal Canadiens might need to explore trading Alexandre Carrier or Jayden Struble
The popular solution to their blueline issues is to trade Arber Xhekaj and then let Reinbacher and Engstrom compete for the seventh defenseman spot this season. That is ultimately the direction they may go, but Kent Hughes could also potentially consider trading either Alexandre Carrier or Jayden Struble, which opens up more ice time for Xhekaj and one of the two prospects.
Carrier and Struble are both entering the final year of their current contracts, and after this season, Carrier will be an unrestricted free agent, and Struble will be a restricted free agent. For the Canadiens, if they get an indication that they might not be able to reach an extension, particularly with Carrier, then it might make sense to trade one of them now.
By moving Carrier, the Canadiens create a roster spot for Xhekaj and the opportunity to earn a permanent spot on the third pair. He won't be handed that spot though and will still need to beat out Reinbacher and Engstrom but it is a move that sets this group up not just this season but moving forward.
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