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Photo of Arber Xhekaj

Arber Xhekaj

#72 · Defence · Montréal Canadiens

Born Jan 30, 2001 in Hamilton, Ontario, CAN (age 25) · 6'4", 240 lb · Shoots left

Compare with a similar player

The defencemen closest to him in points in 2022-23. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Henri Jokiharju BUF · 13 P in 60 GP Joel Edmundson MTL · 13 P in 61 GP Chris Tanev CGY · 13 P in 65 GP Erik Gudbranson CBJ · 13 P in 70 GP Sean Walker LAK · 13 P in 70 GP

Career

Regular season games only. Pick a season to see its game log below. Cap hit is what he counted against the salary cap that season, where it is known.

05102022-23: 13 points1322-232023-24: 10 points1023-242024-25: 6 points624-252025-26: 4 points425-262026-27: 0 points026-27

Points by season. The darker bar is the season shown below.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
2022-23 MTL 51 5 8 13 -9 101 75 159 0.25 $828K
2023-24 MTL 44 3 7 10 6 81 61 125 0.23 $828K
2024-25 MTL 70 1 5 6 -13 118 69 180 0.09 $1.3M
2025-26 MTL 65 1 3 4 -8 116 40 178 0.06 $1.3M
2026-27 MTL 5 0 0 0 0 12 2 7 0.00 $1.5M
5 seasons Career 235 10 23 33 -24 428 247 649 0.14

Playoffs

Playoff games only. Pick a season to see that year's bracket.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
2024-25 MTL 3 0 0 0 1 4 2 12 0.00
2025-26 MTL 13 1 1 2 5 28 8 45 0.15
2 seasons Playoffs 16 1 1 2 6 32 10 57 0.13

2022-23 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
51 5 8 13 -9 101 75 159 0.25 6.7 15:16

Contract

$828KCap hitends in 2024, then RFA
$64KCap dollars per point13 points in 51 games
-$1.5MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
-$2.3MValueworth minus cap hit; below zero is overpaid

His cap hit for the whole season, set against what he did in the regular season. Lower is better value. In a season still being played the cost per point starts high and falls as the games add up. He rated at or below a spare-part player, so there is no cost per goal to show. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 695 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the Montreal Canadiens on Oct 4, 2021, as an entry-level contract: 3 years and $2.485M, beginning in 2021-22. It runs through 2023-24, with 1 season left after this one, and he is then a restricted free agent.

Season Cap hit Base salary Signing bonus Performance bonuses Paid in all Clause
2021-22 $828K $750K $80K $830K
2022-23 $828K $750K $70K $820K
2023-24 $828K $775K $60K $835K

Each season of the contract, with this one marked. The cap hit is the same every year; what he is paid is not. The pay is as written when the contract was recorded in October 2024, so a later change, such as the rise in the lowest salary for 2026-27, is not shown.

Contracts he has signed

Signed Signed by Kind Seasons Years In all Cap hit
Sep 15, 2026 Montréal Canadiens New contract 2026-27 to 2026-27 1 $1.5M $1.5M
Jul 30, 2024 Montreal Canadiens New contract 2024-25 to 2025-26 2 $2.6M $1.3M
Oct 4, 2021 Montreal Canadiens Entry-level 2021-22 to 2023-24 3 $2.485M $828K

Every contract on record for him, newest first, with the team that signed him to it and the day it was signed. The one covering 2022-23 is marked. An extension is signed while the contract before it is still running, often a year ahead. A row with no team or date is a contract known only by its cap hit, most often one signed since October 2024.

2022-23 analytics

Rating

-3.1Goals above replacement647th of 696 skaters, 207th of 235 defencemen
-0.5Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-5.7Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 235 ranked defencemen: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile.

Even-strength offence-0.8 55th percentileEven-strength defence-2.6 14th percentilePower play-0.3 31st percentilePenalty kill-0.3 24th percentilePenalties-1.7 14th percentile

The goals he added to his team's goal difference, compared with a spare-part player given the same ice time. Each part is measured against the league, so zero is an average skater, and the rank beside it is among defencemen. A full season is about two-thirds the player and one-third chance. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

-4-3-2-1012022-232023-242024-252025-262026-27Goals above replacementGoals above replacement, by season

On the ice

What happened at five-on-five while he was on the ice. What these numbers mean

47.3Corsi for %652 attempts for, 725 against
+1.4CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
41.3Expected goals for %25.7 expected for, 36.5 against
-3.3xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
46.7Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
44.4Goals for %24 for, 30 against
99.3PDO6.9% shooting + 92.4% saves
156Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

Each share is coloured by where it ranks among the 613 skaters who played enough to be ranked: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile. PDO and attempts taken are left plain, since neither is good or bad on its own.

Who he played with

Defence pairGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Chris Wideman · Arber Xhekaj29291:0248.338.010-10
Johnathan Kovacevic · Arber Xhekaj27113:2848.848.53-2
Joel Edmundson · Arber Xhekaj2694:4643.947.93-3
David Savard · Arber Xhekaj2676:4041.133.81-6

The pairs he spent the most time in at five-on-five, with the team's share of the shot attempts and expected goals, and the goals for and against, while they were out. The two shares are coloured as above, against the league's pairs that played a fair amount together. Hover over one for its percentile.

Chances and finishing

Expected goals adds up how likely each of his shots was to go in, judged by where it came from, what kind of shot it was and whether it was a rebound. All situations, leaving out shots at an empty net. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

5Goalsnot counting empty-netters
2.3Expected goalsfrom 103 unblocked attempts
+2.7Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.18 expected goals per 60 minutes41st
Shot quality 2.2% chance per attempt5th
Finishing +2.7 goals above expected88thOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of defencemen he is ahead of, among the 233 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

012345Game 20Game 40Goals 5Expected 2.3

His goals and his expected goals as the season went on. When the goals line pulls away above, he is scoring more than his chances were worth; below, less.

Where he shot from

Every attempt he took this season, in all situations, attacking the net on the right. Darker red means more attempts from that spot, and each dot is a goal. "Show every shot" switches to a dot for each attempt, bigger for a better chance. Click a goal for its details.

Game log

Date Opponent Result G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits TOI
Feb 12, 2023 vs EDM W 6-2 0 0 0 0 9 0 2 10:16
Feb 11, 2023 vs NYI W 4-3 (OT) 0 0 0 -2 0 3 3 21:12
Jan 31, 2023 vs OTT L 4-5 0 0 0 -1 0 2 5 17:33
Jan 28, 2023 @ OTT L 0-5 0 0 0 -4 0 1 6 18:55
Jan 26, 2023 vs DET L 3-4 (OT) 0 0 0 1 0 1 3 19:46
Jan 24, 2023 vs BOS L 2-4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10:43
Jan 21, 2023 vs TOR W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 12:26
Jan 19, 2023 vs FLA L 2-6 0 0 0 0 15 1 5 10:36
Jan 17, 2023 vs WPG W 4-1 0 0 0 1 5 3 3 11:12
Jan 15, 2023 @ NYR W 2-1 0 0 0 1 0 1 4 11:54
Jan 14, 2023 @ NYI L 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 17:17
Jan 12, 2023 vs NSH W 4-3 0 0 0 0 5 0 7 15:15
Jan 9, 2023 vs SEA L 0-4 0 0 0 -1 0 0 1 14:58
Jan 7, 2023 vs STL W 5-4 0 0 0 -2 0 0 4 14:15
Jan 5, 2023 vs NYR L 1-4 0 1 1 -1 2 2 2 14:23
Jan 3, 2023 @ NSH L 3-6 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 16:50
Dec 31, 2022 @ WSH L 2-9 0 0 0 -2 0 2 5 18:18
Dec 29, 2022 @ FLA L 2-7 1 1 2 0 0 3 3 19:26
Dec 28, 2022 @ TBL L 1-4 0 0 0 -1 0 2 2 17:53
Dec 23, 2022 @ DAL L 2-4 0 1 1 1 0 3 2 16:00
Dec 21, 2022 @ COL L 1-2 (OT) 0 0 0 1 2 3 2 14:34
Dec 19, 2022 @ ARI W 3-2 (OT) 0 1 1 1 0 1 2 16:11
Dec 17, 2022 vs TBL L 1-5 0 0 0 0 5 2 1 15:20
Dec 15, 2022 vs ANA L 2-5 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 15:42
Dec 14, 2022 @ OTT L 2-3 0 0 0 0 2 2 6 13:35
Dec 12, 2022 vs CGY W 2-1 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 14:51
Dec 10, 2022 vs LAK L 2-4 0 0 0 -1 0 0 3 15:37
Dec 6, 2022 @ SEA W 4-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 04:50
Dec 5, 2022 @ VAN L 6-7 (OT) 0 1 1 0 5 0 2 13:44
Dec 3, 2022 @ EDM L 3-5 1 0 1 0 2 1 3 17:24
Dec 1, 2022 @ CGY W 2-1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 11:11
Nov 25, 2022 @ CHI W 3-2 (SO) 0 0 0 0 2 1 3 14:34
Nov 23, 2022 @ CBJ W 3-1 1 0 1 1 0 2 0 16:05
Nov 19, 2022 vs PHI W 5-4 (SO) 0 1 1 0 5 1 2 13:52
Nov 17, 2022 @ CBJ L 4-6 0 0 0 1 5 3 2 15:50
Nov 15, 2022 vs NJD L 1-5 0 0 0 0 2 1 5 19:36
Nov 12, 2022 vs PIT W 5-4 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 3 4 18:12
Nov 9, 2022 vs VAN W 5-2 1 0 1 0 2 2 1 19:19
Nov 8, 2022 @ DET W 3-2 (SO) 0 0 0 -2 2 2 3 15:48
Nov 5, 2022 vs VGK L 4-6 0 0 0 -1 4 2 3 13:27
Nov 3, 2022 @ WPG L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 10 19:02
Nov 1, 2022 @ MIN L 1-4 0 0 0 0 10 3 2 17:36
Oct 29, 2022 @ STL W 7-4 0 0 0 -1 0 1 3 12:53
Oct 27, 2022 @ BUF W 3-2 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 14:10
Oct 25, 2022 vs MIN L 1-3 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 14:32
Oct 22, 2022 vs DAL L 2-5 1 1 2 1 0 1 7 16:12
Oct 20, 2022 vs ARI W 6-2 0 0 0 1 5 3 3 17:40
Oct 17, 2022 vs PIT W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 4 1 3 15:59
Oct 15, 2022 @ WSH L 1-3 0 1 1 1 2 0 3 15:05
Oct 14, 2022 @ DET L 0-3 0 0 0 -1 2 2 6 14:02
Oct 12, 2022 vs TOR W 4-3 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 12:47