Personnel movement of Kent Hughes and it involves Arber Xhekaj

Indeed, as you know, the Canadiens' GM likes to take advantage of the benefits associated with long-term injured reserve, especially with Carey Price, Patrik Laine, and Rafaël Harvey-Pinard sidelined.

However, Kent Hughes does not want to have to respect the cap without those salaries during the summer, otherwise he will be at a disadvantage. In summary, he is entitled to it (the LTIR during the off-season), but he prefers not to use it for certain advantageous reasons.

The GM has therefore decided to send two players to Laval to save the necessary money to comply with the salary cap. Arber Xhekaj and Jayden Struble have thus been assigned to the Rocket.

Don't worry, it's customary, and it's simply an administrative move. The two players did not actually go to Laval, and in the case of the sheriff, he will be in uniform on Wednesday night against the Leafs.

For Jayden Struble, it's a bit more complicated. He was injured during the pre-season games and his status is uncertain.

What is certain is that both defensemen would be very useful to the CH against the Maple Leafs, as it promises to get physical. Without taking anything away from Justin Barron, he does not have the player profile to play in these circumstances.

So we can say it's a small masterstroke by Kent Hughes, who once again demonstrates that he knows exactly what he's doing.