{"id":846849,"date":"2026-08-05T10:16:37","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T10:16:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/846849\/"},"modified":"2026-08-05T10:16:37","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T10:16:37","slug":"its-reportedly-over-for-arber-xhekaj-as-the-calgary-flames-make-their-final-call","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/846849\/","title":{"rendered":"It’s reportedly over for Arber Xhekaj as the Calgary Flames make their final call"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t \"Calgary <\/p>\n

Photo credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tThe Calgary Flames have made their decision on Arber Xhekaj<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Flames are no longer a realistic destination for Arber Xhekaj, according to Anthony Di Marco.<\/p>\n

The team has changed its mind.<\/p>\n

The Canadiens defenseman remains unsigned for next season, and trade rumours continue to swirl around him. But Calgary can now be crossed off the list for Xhekaj.<\/p>\n

His rights still belong to the Canadiens, but that doesn’t mean the situation has been resolved.<\/p>\n

His case remains unusual.<\/p>\n

Xhekaj hasn’t fully established himself as an everyday NHL defenseman, and the crowded blue line, especially on the left side, continues to raise questions about his future in Montreal.<\/p>\n

Calgary had drawn attention in recent months as a team with serious interest in acquiring the Sheriff.<\/p>\n

But Di Marco, of Daily Faceoff, closed that door today.<\/p>\n

According to him, Calgary should no longer be part of the equation surrounding Xhekaj.<\/p>\n

The team was interested at one point, but no longer views Xhekaj as a \u201cfit\u201d after Craig Conroy acquired Jacob Middleton<\/a> this summer.<\/p>\n

Jake Middleton closes Calgary’s door on Arber Xhekaj<\/p>\n

Here’s what the reporter had to say about the situation:<\/p>\n

“Per sources, while the Flames had previously shown interest in Xhekaj, they no longer see him as a fit after acquiring Jake Middleton from the Wild.”<\/p>\n

That appears to settle the matter.<\/p>\n

The possibility of Arber Xhekaj joining the Calgary Flames now appears to be over before it ever really began.<\/p>\n

Middleton’s profile explains why the Flames decided to close that door.<\/p>\n

Like Xhekaj, he’s a left-shot defenseman who isn’t afraid of physical play. He’s rugged and built for a third-pair role.<\/p>\n

Middleton is signed through the end of the 2028-29 season at $4.35 million per year.<\/p>\n

He was involved in the trade that sent Blake Coleman<\/a> to the Wild.<\/p>\n

Having two players with similar profiles doesn’t make much sense within the same defensive group.<\/p>\n

Calgary has filled its need for physicality on the left side.<\/p>\n

The market isn’t limited to the Flames.<\/p>\n

The Philadelphia Flyers remain among the teams keeping a close eye on the situation.<\/p>\n

Even without Calgary, there’s still a market for Xhekaj.<\/p>\n

Will the defenseman, who hasn’t always been in Martin St-Louis’ good graces, begin the season in Montreal?<\/p>\n

Previously on Montreal Hockey Fanatics<\/p>\n

POLL<\/p>\n

11 HOURS AGO|276 ANSWERS<\/p>\n

It’s reportedly over for Arber Xhekaj as the Calgary Flames make their final call<\/p>\n

Would you trade Arber Xhekaj for a second-round pick?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Photo credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images The Calgary Flames have made their decision on Arber Xhekaj.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":846850,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194293],"tags":[294811,27038,49,2798,762,48,275201,8467,743],"class_list":["post-846849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-calgary","tag-anthony-di-marco","tag-arber-xhekaj","tag-ca","tag-calgary","tag-calgary-flames","tag-canada","tag-jacob-middleton","tag-kent-hughes","tag-montreal-canadiens"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846849","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=846849"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846849\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/846850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=846849"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=846849"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=846849"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}