Montreal Canadiens plan to expand Florian Xhekaj’s role after promising prospect showdown

As the rookie camp is only four days underway for the Montreal Canadiens, forward Florian Xhekaj is already making waves, as the Montreal Canadiens are already planning to expand his role with bigger opportunities. The big forward, who reportedly added about 15 pounds of muscle over the offseason, impressed in Saturday night’s Prospect Showdown with his enhanced physicality, with no dropoff in speed. Florian Xhekaj is considered one of the promising players of the Canadiens. The player has signed to a 3-year, $2,600,001 contract with a cap hit of $866,667 per season, playing for the Montreal Canadiens. His contract expires at the end of the 2026-27 season, making Xhekaj a Restricted Free Agent. However, the Canadiens are planning to expand his role in the team. Let’s take a look at the ongoing plans for Xhekaj.After an impressive campaign, the Montreal Canadiens are looking forward to broadening Florian Xhekaj’s role in the team. As per reports, Xhekaj joined players deemed almost NHL-ready on the Canadiens' starting lineup in the exhibition game against the Winnipeg Jets prospects. According to his coach, Pascal Vincent, the reasoning is that even though Xhekaj has had success playing center in the past (including a 24-goal campaign with little use of special teams), the team wants to see him in a variety of roles where he can contribute both offensively and defensively.Speaking about Xhekaj, Vincent noted, “We played him at center all year last year, and he had a lot of success. He scored 24 goals without ever really getting power-play time, and we want to expand his use and put him in different situations. He further added, “With Kapanen and Demidov, we wanted a physical presence. We also wanted someone who could address the issue if someone looked at Demidov sideways. He didn’t need to do any of that, but he’s aware of that. We don’t need to talk about it, but to be able to play with those two and contribute offensively and defensively, rather than just being a physical force, taking faceoffs as he’s a righty. Kapanen’s a lefty; it was great to see those three together. If we had more time, we could develop something exciting, but we only have two games.”According to Florian Xhekaj's most current professional statistics, he played 69 games for the Laval Rocket in 2024–25, collecting 184 penalty minutes, 27 goals, and 35 assists for 62 points. Also read: Who was Bob Goodenow? NHLPA Executive Director who redefined Hockey dies at 72The Montreal Canadiens signed him to a three-year entry-level contract after selecting him 101st overall in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. In addition to this, he has also played in the GOJHL with the Pelham Panthers and the OHL with the Hamilton Bulldogs, now the Brantford Bulldogs.