The Flyers have had a lot of interest in Arber Xhekaj for a while, but David Pagnotta isn't sure the two sides have talked recently.
“I don't know if they've had recent conversations,” Pagnotta said on DFO Insider on Wednesday.
He described the Canadiens defenseman as a guy Philadelphia has had a lot of interest in for a while.
That's a long way from the “significant trade brewing” headlines making the rounds Friday. The buzz ran well ahead of the reporting.
It's like hearing your neighbor admired your car and assuming he's already at the bank lining up a loan.
Xhekaj has no points through four games on a $1,500,000 cap hit. He also took a misconduct Thursday that left Montreal with five defensemen for half the third.
The timing still matters. Montreal traded Jayden Struble to Nashville on Friday, according to Renaud Lavoie.
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The Canadiens may have a major trade decision to make on Arber Xhekaj
That leaves six defensemen who've dressed this season: Lane Hutson, Noah Dobson, Michael Matheson, Alexandre Carrier, Xhekaj and Adam Engstrom.
Engstrom has dressed just once, which makes Xhekaj's spot even harder to give up right now.
Kent Hughes shouldn't touch this one until he has a seventh defenseman he actually trusts.
The Canadiens sit 26th in the league and are giving up 4.8 goals a game.
Samuel Montembeault is out 10 to 14 days, too, so the Canadiens can't afford any more cracks in front of their crease.
Philadelphia is winless through five games and sits 30th, with Cam York at -6 and Jamie Drysdale still looking for his first point.
So is this a trade waiting to happen, or just a long-running crush from Philadelphia?
Daniel Briere clearly likes the player. Whether he's willing to meet Montreal's price is a question nobody has answered yet.
Montreal hosts Detroit tonight, while the Flyers visit Boston this afternoon before hosting Carolina on Sunday.
Until someone reports an actual conversation, this stays a rumor. The Nov. 21 meeting in Montreal could make it a lot more interesting.
Is the Arber Xhekaj trade buzz overblown?
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