Martin St-Louis May Have Already Made His Decision on Arber Xhekaj Ahead Of Upcoming Season

Jan 26, 2023; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj (72) during warm-up before the game against the Detroit Red Wings at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images

Photo credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images

The head coach of the Montreal Canadiens, Martin St-Louis, is said to have already chosen his seven defensemen to start the 2025-26 season.

Martin St-Louis Would Take His 7 Defensemen Over Any Other Group of 7 in the NHL

Here’s an excerpt from the article:

During the summer, the Canadiens’ bench boss picked up the phone to blitz-call his players and take the pulse following the acquisitions made by his general manager, Kent Hughes.

He told the guys:

“I would take our group of seven defensemen over any other in the league,” Struble said in an interview with TVA Sports on Thursday night.

Hearing that, it’s pretty easy to conclude that Montreal’s seven defensemen are already chosen, though for caution’s sake, we’ll still treat it as a rumor.

That means the real battle would be between Xhekaj and Struble (and not Xhekaj, Struble, and Reinbacher). Either way, both physical defensemen are likely to see plenty of ice time this season.

And if this proves true, it wouldn’t be a bad thing for young David Reinbacher to continue developing further with the Laval Rocket.

Previously on HabsFanatics

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