Arber Xhekaj is still without a contract heading into camp, and Canadiens GM Kent Hughes is actively hunting for the player who could take his spot.
Training camp opens in about a month, and Xhekaj remains a restricted free agent with no new deal in place.
He carried a cap hit of $1.3 million last season, posting 1 goal and 3 assists in 65 games while going minus-8.
The playoffs told a different story. Xhekaj posted 1 goal and 1 assist in 13 games and finished a plus-5 in that stretch.
But production was never really the point. It's about whether he still has a lane on the blue line at all.
Hughes has made it clear his priority is landing an experienced right-shot defenceman to play next to Lane Hutson.
And if that happens, there won't be a regular spot left for Xhekaj on this roster.
Sign-and-trade precedent looms over Xhekaj's summer
Hughes pulled off exactly that kind of move last summer, acquiring Noah Dobson from the Islanders in a sign-and-trade after Dobson had agreed to an eight-year, $9.5 million deal.
The same fate could be waiting for Xhekaj. He's 25 years old, physical, well liked in the room, and other teams around the league will have real interest in him.
His most recent form gives him a case to make. Over his last 10 games, Xhekaj posted a goal and finished plus-3.
But rate that against the bigger picture. A defenceman going minus-8 across a full season isn't the kind of number that forces a GM's hand.
Zachary Bolduc sits in the same spot, another unsigned restricted free agent the Canadiens will have to sort out before the new collective bargaining agreement kicks in on September 16.
That date matters. Once it hits, players can't sign for more than seven years with their current team, and signing bonuses get capped differently than they are right now.
Hughes has said he won't make a move just to make one. He wants a real trade partner, not a panic deal.
For Xhekaj, the calendar is exactly the pressure point. Camp is coming, the depth chart isn't settling in his favor, and every day without a signature adds weight to the sign-and-trade theory.
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Montreal opens the season on September 29 in Toronto against the Maple Leafs, and how this roster spot resolves by then says a lot about where Xhekaj actually stands with this franchise.
Should the Canadiens keep Arber Xhekaj even if it means passing on a top defenceman upgrade?
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