3 Teams Who Could Offer Sheet Arber Xhekaj
- A former offer-sheet villain re-emerges
- One team fits Xhekaj's style perfectly
- A rival slides into the mix
By Nate Duffett
Columbus Blue Jackets
If there's anyone bold enough to move to a different team and do an offer sheet for another Habs player, it's Don Waddell. If you remember, Waddell's Hurricanes are the team that offer-sheeted Jesper Kotkaniemi and stole him away from the Canadiens. This time, the Blue Jackets could use a young defenseman, much like the Hurricanes' need for center depth back then.
The Blue Jackets have some young defensemen coming in the pipeline. David Jiricek, Denton Mateychuk, and Stanislav Svozil will make an impact at the NHL level. Unfortunately, defensemen take longer to develop in the NHL. The Blue Jackets have an older blue line, with Jack Johnson and Ivan Provorov's contracts expiring after this upcoming season. That'll leave them with three veteran defensemen on their roster, and unless the three prospects are ready to play full-time, they'll need someone.
They also have Erik Gudbranson, who will likely leave in two seasons. Arber Xhekaj would be a perfect fit to anchor their bottom pair and move upwards in the lineup when needed.