Arber Xhekaj and the Montreal Canadiens have agreed on a two-year contract extension, the team announced on Tuesday.
The defenceman, who was a restricted free agent, will earn an average of US$1.3 million over each of the next two seasons.
Xhekaj played 44 games with the Canadiens last season, tallying three goals and seven assists — as well as 81 penalty minutes. He also played 17 games with the Laval Rocket after being sent down in December.
The 23-year-old was called back up by the Canadiens in late January, but for the second year in a row shoulder surgery cut his season short. He is expected to be back in time for the 2024-25 season.
Four years ago, when the OHL’s 2020-21 season was cancelled due to COVID-19, Xhekaj was working at Costco.
When he went undrafted at the NHL level — as had happened in the OHL — the Canadiens invited him to training camp in 2021 before signing him to a three-year contract worth US$2.485 million.
Xhekaj’s younger brother, Florian, was drafted by the Canadiens in the fourth round of the 2023 NHL Draft.
“That was amazing. That was the icing on the top of the cake,” Arber told The Gazette. “If he ends up playing with me, that would be a dream come true. We’d play on the street every day and any sport; we’d challenge each other one on one.”
This article will be updated