The Montreal Canadiens announced Sunday that they had submitted qualifying offers to defensemen Arber Xhekaj and Justin Barron, who will become restricted free agents on Monday.
As reported in the last few days, forward Jesse Ylönen was not retained by the CH. Forwards Filip Cederqvist and Lias Andersson as well as defender Mattias Norlinder were also released by the Tricolore and will be able to test the market of autonomy.
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Undrafted, Xhekaj split his time this season between the National Hockey League (NHL) in Montreal and the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Laval Rocket. In 44 games in the big league in 2023-24, the 6-foot-4 defenseman had the second-best differential on the team (+6), in addition to collecting three goals and seven assists for 10 points.
He is also the one who has amassed the most hits (125) among the players playing his position at CH.
Barron has also often shuttled between Montreal and Laval this season. He has seven goals and six assists for 13 points in 48 games in the NHL. The 25th overall pick in the 2020 amateur auction was acquired by the Canadian in the transaction that sent Artturi Lehkonen to the Colorado Avalanche in March 2022.
Norlinder, who ultimately only played six games with the Canadian in 2021-2022, was not able to establish himself. The Swede had an excellent training camp before fading into Laval. The 2019 third-round pick had just nine points in 50 games with the farm club last season.
