Canadiens practice takes an unexpected turn with a heated moment between Xhekaj and Struble
The Montreal Canadiens had a standard practice this morning, but it was a scene involving Jayden Struble and Arber Xhekaj that drew the most attention.
The Habs held their morning practice in Brossard today, with Nick Suzuki absent from the session.
As we already know, the Canadiens rely heavily on energy, identity, and effort, but one moment this morning highlighted something different.
It wasn't a conflict, it wasn't frustration.
It was two teammates who truly want to push each other to become better.
Arber Xhekaj and Jayden Struble turn up the heat during practice with the Montreal Canadiens
For fun, and also to prepare for the many battles in the NHL, Arber Xhekaj and Jayden Struble decided to drop the gloves in practice.
The sequence is funny to watch.
It quickly became clear that it was an exchange between two players who respect each other tremendously.
No dangerous moves, no unnecessary actions - just two defensemen who want to sharpen their physical play.
And in Xhekaj's case, this is nothing new.
His reputation is well established in the league.
According to Mathieu Paradis from the excellent site TSLH, Arber's NHL fight record has been revealed, and it's pretty impressive!
During the 2022-23 season, Xhekaj dropped the gloves nine times, and his record was:
Seven wins, one loss, and one draw.
In 2023-24, he fought five times.
Result: three wins, one loss, and one draw.
Last season, in 2024-25, eight fights.
Five wins, one loss, and two draws.
This year, only one fight so far, recorded as a loss according to Hockey Fights.
That gives an overall record of "15 wins, 4 losses, and 4 draws".
Pretty solid for our Arber!
Struble also plays with a lot of intensity, and he never backs down.
Seeing two guys like that push each other in practice - I really like it.
It shows a team that wants to be hard to play against.
You can feel the commitment, you can feel that they want to win.
And who knows, if Kaiden Guhle is indeed coming back from injury soon, these two might be fighting for more than just fun... they might be fighting for a spot in the lineup.
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