{"id":873279,"date":"2026-08-27T11:41:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T11:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/873279\/"},"modified":"2026-08-27T11:41:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T11:41:00","slug":"arber-xhekajs-agent-clears-the-air-on-his-future-with-the-canadiens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/873279\/","title":{"rendered":"Arber Xhekaj&#8217;s agent clears the air on his future with the Canadiens"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t  &#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/681770.webp\" style=\"width:100%;\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Montreal Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj (72) looks on against the New Jersey Devils during the second period at Bell Centre.\" title=\"Montreal Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj (72) looks on against the New Jersey Devils during the second period at Bell Centre.\"\/>&#13;<\/p>\n<p>Photo credit: Screenshot \/ David Kirouac-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p>His agent, Brian Bartlett, says the defenseman has no desire to leave Montreal, even though negotiations on his new contract appear to be complicated.<\/p>\n<p>The rugged 25-year-old defenseman has been a restricted free agent since July, which has drawn attention from elsewhere around the NHL.<\/p>\n<p>The Philadelphia Flyers and Calgary Flames have reportedly shown some interest in No. 72.<\/p>\n<p>Still, Bartlett offered some reassurance during an appearance on TSN 690, stressing his client&#8217;s genuine attachment to the city.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iheart.com\/podcast\/1300-the-game-plan-339845840\/episode\/brian-bartlett-arber-xhekaj-loves-montreal-339845865\/\" class=\"lien_marqueur\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">According to the agent,<\/a> Xhekaj particularly appreciates the passion of the fans, the coaching staff and life in Montreal.<\/p>\n<p>He wants to stay with the Canadiens!<\/p>\n<p>Arber Xhekaj contract talks remain calm as Kent Hughes earns praise from his agent<\/p>\n<p>Bartlett also praised the negotiating style of Kent Hughes, a former agent himself, describing him as candid, direct and methodical.<\/p>\n<p>Even in a tricky position, Montreal Canadiens management is said to maintain a human and pragmatic approach in this type of situation.<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s great to hear, especially coming from an agent who is currently in the middle of negotiations with the Habs.<\/p>\n<p>On the ice, Xhekaj has played more than 200 NHL games, establishing himself as a well-liked teammate in the locker room.<\/p>\n<p>Both sides appear to be taking the time needed to reach an agreement that works for everyone, with no apparent urgency or panic.<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;ll continue to keep a close eye on the situation for you.<\/p>\n<p>Previously on Montreal Hockey Fanatics<\/p>\n<p>POLL<\/p>\n<p>13 HOURS AGO|179 ANSWERS<\/p>\n<p>Arber Xhekaj&#8217;s agent clears the air on his future with the Canadiens<\/p>\n<p>Should Arber Xhekaj stay with the Canadiens long term?<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"&#13; &#13; &#13; Photo credit: Screenshot \/ David Kirouac-Imagn Images His agent, Brian Bartlett, says the defenseman has&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":873280,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[27038,294229,49,762,48,5716,8467,743,448,82],"class_list":["post-873279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-arber-xhekaj","tag-brian-bartlett","tag-ca","tag-calgary-flames","tag-canada","tag-contract","tag-kent-hughes","tag-montreal-canadiens","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873279","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=873279"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873279\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/873280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=873279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=873279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=873279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}