The Calgary Flames might be cooking up a trade with the Montreal Canadiens ahead of Friday’s deadline.
It’s expected that the Flames will be among the teams selling at this year’s trade deadline. With just over 20 games left on their schedule, Calgary is sitting far outside the playoffs and will likely be in the lottery mix this summer.
With that in mind, GM Craig Conroy could be busy offloading a few players and hoarding future assets. Yet, the latest rumour has them interested in bringing in a player rather than trading one away.
According to the Montreal Gazette’s Herb Zurkowsky, the Flames have trade interest in Canadiens defenceman Arber Xhekaj.
I’m hearing Calgary has an interest in #Habs’ defenceman Arber Xhekaj
— Herb Zurkowsky (@HerbZurkowsky1) March 3, 2026
The 25-year-old Xhekaj has been a fan favourite in Montreal over the past seasons, largely due to his big personality and willingness to drop the gloves. He’s gained a reputation as being among the toughest players in the NHL, but his on-ice effectiveness has been a question mark of late.
Xhekaj is not an offensive player, having just 1o goals and 31 points across his 216 NHL career and is more of a stay-at-home defender. He’s about the right age to slot into this rebuilding Calgary team and would be relatively cheap with just a $1.3 million cap hit that runs until the end of the season. He is set to become an RFA this summer.
Montreal is poised to return to the playoffs this season, so it feels unlikely that they would move Xhekaj for the sake of moving him. Could the tough-as-nails defender be a part of a larger package in a deal for one of Calgary’s big players?
The Canadiens have been connected to Blake Coleman before, and he would fit the mould of the kind of player they’d want for a playoff run. Or maybe it could involve Nazem Kadri, whose name has been making the rounds in the rumour mill.
Things are starting to heat up around the NHL trade market, and the Flames are sure to be at the centre of things.
