SHOCKING: Canucks star faces career ending injury.
Canadiens defenceman Arber Xhekaj always has played the game hard and is willing to sacrifice his body for the good of the team.
This time, the surgery will be performed on Xhekaj’s left shoulder. According to a published report, it will again be executed in Vail, Col., by Dr. Peter Millett, who previously operated on Cole Caufield and Josh Anderson.
Xhekaj injured his right shoulder during a February 2023 game against Edmonton during a fight with Oilers defenceman Vincent Desharnais. The good news is that shoulder held up this season.
Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis said he believes the latest injury occurred over time and was not due to an on-ice incident. Xhekaj has missed the last two games and ends his season with three goals and 10 points in 44 games, along with a team-leading 81 penalty minutes. He also played 17 games earlier this season with AHL Laval, scoring three goals and 11 points.
The Canadiens already are missing defenceman Kaiden Guhle, who sustained a concussion last Thursday, against Colorado. Guhle was on the ice Tuesday morning, wearing a non-contact jersey. Montreal recalled fellow blue-liner Justin Barron from the Rocket last Saturday on an emergency basis. Barron will complete the season with the Canadiens, but would be eligible to return to Laval, should the Rocket make the playoffs.
Meanwhile, the Canadiens also announced centre Christian Dvorak will return against the Flyers. While Dvorak recently resumed practising and his return was anticipated, he was originally expected to miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery in January for a torn pectoral muscle. Dvorak hasn’t played since Dec. 30.
“I just want to stay healthy here,” Dvorak said on Tuesday. “It has been a lot of rehab here the past calendar year. I just want to get some games in, stay healthy, work on my game and get a bit of momentum heading into the summer.”
Dvorak, in his third season with the Canadiens following a September 2021 trade from Arizona, injured his knee in March 2023, underwent surgery and wasn’t medically cleared for the start of training camp last September. He made his return Nov. 4, at St. Louis, and has three goals and seven points in 25 games.
Dvorak said it was an important source of motivation to prove the medical staff wrong and return earlier than anticipated. He said he wasn’t certain that was realistic, although it remained the carrot he was chasing. He said the months of rehabilitation were mentally gruelling. Dvorak added his biggest challenge will be returning to game speed.
While St. Louis didn’t disclose which wingers would flank Dvorak, he’s expected to replace the underachieving Colin White, who has failed to register a point in 17 games since being claimed off waivers from Pittsburgh.
“You want to get back into competition mode before (the season’s) done, to prove to yourself you’ve recovered and you’re back to yourself,” St. Louis said. “It’s a confidence thing for the player that leads into the summer. Being a left-handed centre, he takes a lot of faceoffs on that side. He’s responsible defensively. A veteran.”
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