Martin St-Louis opened camp Thursday with a call that puts Arber Xhekaj right back in the mix.
The Canadiens head coach slotted Xhekaj alongside Jayden Struble on the third pairing, according to reports from Marco D'Amico and Eric Engels Thursday morning.
It's a real job to open the season, not a camp placeholder. Xhekaj gets to defend a spot instead of chase one.
Lane Hutson runs with Alexandre Carrier on the top pairing, while Noah Dobson skates alongside Michael Matheson on the other side of camp.
David Reinbacher lines up across from Adam Engstrom in that same group, and he's made it clear he wants to crack the roster instead of heading back to Laval.
Kaiden Guhle is out with a groin injury and isn't expected back until at least October 23rd. That absence is the whole reason Xhekaj has room to breathe.
Handing that blue line minutes to a defenseman who managed 4 points over 65 games last season, with a minus-8 rating, is a bet. St-Louis is making it anyway.
David Reinbacher is already circling that Xhekaj spot
Think of it like a lease. Xhekaj has the keys for now, but the real owner is coming back in a few weeks and everybody in that room knows it.
Lane Hutson quietly put up 78 points last season on a $950,000 cap hit, the kind of contract that makes Kent Hughes look brilliant every single night.
Reinbacher managed just 2 games and a single point in his limited NHL look last season, but 21-year-olds with his pedigree don't usually ask to stay in the minors.
So how long does St-Louis stay patient once Reinbacher starts eating into those third-pair reps? That's the real question hanging over this camp.
The schedule doesn't wait around either. Camp runs through September 26, with two preseason games Saturday, one in Montreal and one in Toronto, played at the same time.
Those games will tell a different story than a practice jersey ever could. Xhekaj has the pairing on paper, but paper doesn't survive contact for long.
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Should Arber Xhekaj keep his third-pairing job once Kaiden Guhle is healthy?
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