Three signings later, the Habs D group may be coming into focus

August 4, 2024

After striking out in free agency and dealing with the contract extension for Juraj Slafkovsky, the Montreal Canadiens were pretty quiet in July. Perhaps a vacation was in order for the management group before getting down to business again this week with three contracts signed with three young defenders.

Arber Xhekaj has two years to define himself as more than a third-pair bruiser.

The trio of signings kicked off at 10 in the morning on July 30th, when the Montreal Canadiens announced they had signed restricted free agent Arber Xhekaj to a two-year contract worth $2.6 million and carrying an AAV of $1.3M. The contract will expire at the end of the 2025-26 season and Xhekaj will still be an RFA, making this the classic bridge deal.

Xhekaj has already exceeded expectations. The 23-year-old undrafted big man has played in 95 NHL games and scored 23 points. While playing an acceptable third pair role, he has also become The Sheriff for the Habs, the most consistent bouncer in the line-up. Any opponent who steps out of line can expect an encounter with AX.

But Habs leadership believes that he has more in him, and his trip to Laval this past season was likely intended to provoke Xhekaj to stretch to his ceiling and become a reliable 4-5 defender for years to come.

The competition is fierce in Montreal on left side defense, and Xhekaj has been given two years to prove he should own a role for the long haul. That will mean more focus on being defensively responsible and adding discipline to his game to avoid untimely penalties.

Justin Barron has two years to convince fans he was worth his purchase price.

Also on July 30th, at 2 in the afternoon, the Habs announced the signing of restricted free agent Justin Barron to a two-year contract worth $2.3 million and carrying an AAV of $1.15M. Barron’s contract is also a bridge and he will be an RFA at the end of the 2025-26 season when the deal expires.

The Habs are looking for Barron to come out of the shadows and show he can be the blue-liner who was worth the price they paid to land him. At their first trade deadline, HuGo traded Artturi Lehkonen to the Colorado Avalanche for Barron and a second round pick.

It’s not as lopsided as fans think. The 22-year-old, drafted by Colorado at 25th overall in 2020, has played in 94 NHL games and scored 12 goals and 30 points. He’s still young for a defenseman, and the Habs were willing to trade Johnathan Kovacevic earlier this summer to free up a roster spot rather than subject Barron to waivers.

Barron will get a chance to prove himself this coming season, but not without competition. When this regime took over, the Habs right side D group was as deep as a thimble. The trade for Barron was an attempt to address that. Since then, they have developed Logan Mailloux and drafted David Reinbacher.

Barron needs to round out his game, which means he will need to be stronger defensively and be smarter in his decision-making. He could also stand to lose the timidity we sometimes see from Barron where physical battles are concerned.

Kaiden Guhle has a year to grow into his new contract.

The biggest fish came last. On July 31st, at 10 in the morning, the Canadiens announced they had signed Kaiden Guhle to a six-year contract extension worth $33 million. The contract kicks in for the 2025-26 season and carries an AAV of $5.5M, so he will have another year to show that the gamble the Habs took was a smart one. Guhle will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the contract.

The gamble is already looking reasonable. At age 22, Guhle has played in 114 NHL games, a majority of which has seen him forced to play higher in the line-up than was ideal. Nonetheless, he has amassed 40 points while playing against top lines.

The Habs are hoping Guhle can grow into a top-pairing defender or, at worst, anchor a second pair. He’s already doing that, you might be thinking. You’d be right, and that will be more impressive if the Habs can start winning.

Guhle needs to stay healthy, and at that cap hit you would hope he finds a little more offense in his game. I’m still to be convinced he will do either of those things while playing on his off side, but who knows if that will be in the long term plan.

Some additional subtraction may be necessary to make the blue line work.

The Habs are in a decent place where right shot defenders are concerned. David Savard is the veteran in the group with Barron, Mailloux and Reinbacher on their way, the latter two expected to grow into top-4 defenders. If that development goes as planned, Barron or another low-cost addition for the third pair and/or depth works just fine.

Guhle has also been playing right side, despite being a left shot. It’s unclear whether this is a short term measure while the younger players develop, or if the intention is for him to become a long term fixture there to help address the clog on the left side.

On the left, the depth is significant. Even if you don’t count Guhle there – which in my mind is less than ideal – the group includes Michael Matheson, Lane Hutson, Jordan Harris, Jayden Struble, and Xhekaj. That’s five NHL-ready left-shot defenders, with Guhle playing on the right side. In the meanwhile, William Trudeau and newly signed Adam Engstrom are developing in Laval.

Something eventually has to give. There is no immediate urgency, as long as some can be sent to Laval without waivers. But that’s a solution with a timer.

Some kids are setting a timer for the Habs brass to figure out the mix.

It’s doubtful that anyone believes Lane Hutson will be best developed in Laval for any extended period. It would be difficult to justify a demotion for Xhekaj, Harris or Struble in the absence of a cliff fall. As much as fans may fantasize about the return for Matheson, a trade does not seem likely at this time.

But time is running out, like the proverbial sands through the hour glass. Decisions will need to be made, striking a balance between the essential pieces to keep and fetching the best return.

It’s still too soon to project pairs for 2024-25.

If we were guessing today, the Habs would start the season with a roster of eight defenders. Matheson and Guhle will likely be the top pair, and Hutson will likely develop alongside Savard, at least until the trade deadline. Barron, Harris, Xhekaj and Struble would make up a nightly rotation. This set up is both definitely doable and less than ideal.

Smart money says the Habs will still try to work a deal before the season begins to add a goal-scoring forward, and a young defenseman will be sent the other way in that deal. Barron in a package for Rutger McGroarty still makes sense. Xhekaj’s trade value has likely increased with the contract extension, and making him available would likely open options. Matheson would be even more lucrative.

With these contract extensions, the picture has become a little clearer, but it’s not crystal clear just yet.