Arber Xhekaj, who has one of the best stories in the NHL, overcoming being undrafted at every level, and then making the NHL at only 20 years old, had an up-and-down season this year.
After being sent down to the AHl earlier in the season, Xhekaj fought back up, and became a key piece of the Canadiens defense alongside veteran David Savard.
He has now undergone season-ending surgery:
Luckily, Xhekaj is expected to make a full recovery for next season. Hopefully he does not suffer any long-term effects from this.
Xhekaj is not the first member of the Canadiens to undergo shoulder surgery in recent memory. Cole Caufield went through a similar surgery and is taking a long time to recover. We will see how the undrafted defenseman adapts to this.
POLL | ||
AVRIL 9 | 77 ANSWERS Arber Xhekaj undergoes season-ending surgery Do you think Arber Xhekaj will be a star? | ||
Yes | 26 | 33.8 % |
No | 51 | 66.2 % |
LIST OF POLLS |
G | A | PTS | ||
Adam Fantilli | 3 | - | 3 | |
Tomas Hertl | 3 | - | 3 | |
Sidney Crosby | 2 | - | 2 | |
Mark Jankowski | 2 | - | 2 | |
Mathieu Olivier | 2 | - | 2 | |
Brandt Clarke | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Dante Fabbro | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Warren Foegele | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Erik Haula | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Adrian Kempe | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Anze Kopitar | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Connor McMichael | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
John Carlson | - | 2 | 2 | |
Phillip Danault | - | 2 | 2 | |
Joel Edmundson | - | 2 | 2 | |
Jack Eichel | - | 2 | 2 | |
Kevin Fiala | - | 2 | 2 | |
Mark Stone | - | 2 | 2 | |
Vincent Trocheck | - | 2 | 2 | |
Dmitry Voronkov | - | 2 | 2 | |
Complete stats |
STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 64 | 44 | 16 | 4 | 92 | |
Capitals | 63 | 41 | 14 | 8 | 90 | |
Stars | 63 | 41 | 20 | 2 | 84 | |
Panthers | 64 | 40 | 21 | 3 | 83 | |
Golden Knights | 62 | 38 | 18 | 6 | 82 | |
Maple Leafs | 63 | 38 | 22 | 3 | 79 | |
Hurricanes | 63 | 37 | 22 | 4 | 78 | |
Oilers | 63 | 37 | 22 | 4 | 78 | |
Lightning | 63 | 37 | 22 | 4 | 78 | |
Avalanche | 64 | 38 | 24 | 2 | 78 | |
Conference | Cumulative |