Arber Xhekaj has just been sent down to the Laval Rocket by Kent Hughes, but it's only temporary
The Montreal Canadiens have just made their final moves before the start of the new season, aiming to comply with the salary cap and make the necessary cuts to reduce their roster to 23 players or fewer.
After placing Joel Armia and Gustav Lindstrom on waivers yesterday, we learned today that Kent Hughes also sent Mathias Norlinder and Emil Heineman to the Laval Rocket.
We've just found out that Arber Xhekaj's name has also been sent to the minors, in addition to placing Christian Dvorak on the long-term injury list, aiming to save the latter's salary of $4.45 million.
Canadiens fans, don't panic: Xhekaj's reassignment is only on paper, to comply with salary cap and contract limits. After 24 hours, the defenseman will be recalled by the organization to start the year in Montreal and be a part of the defensive squad for the season's opening match on Wednesday against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The key takeaway here is that Hughes and his team managed a significant feat by retaining Carey Price and his hefty $10.5 million contract for the start of the season. They can later place his salary on the LTIR to get relief from his entire contract against the cap.
As for Dvorak, by putting his contract on the same list, it means he'll be out for a minimum of 10 games or 24 days.
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