MONTREAL | Juraj Slafkovsky and Cole Caufield will no longer wear Canadian uniforms this season. We can now add another name to this list: Arber Xhekaj.
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After the 5-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators, the Canadiens offered a rare medical checkup.
The CH has revealed a rather poorly kept secret. Xhekaj does suffer from a right shoulder injury. The rookie defender will undergo surgery. He will meet in Denver Doctor Peter J. Millett, the same surgeon who operated on Josh Anderson and Caufield.
Xhekaj injured his shoulder in a fight against giant defender Vincent Desharnais on February 12.
Described as an injured player and evaluated on a daily basis since January 26, Joel Edmundson has received good news. Number 44 will accompany his teammates for the trip to California and Nevada. He will even be on the ice for practice with the team on Monday in San Jose.
The CH never confirmed his injury, but Edmundson most likely still had problems with his back, a recurring injury in his case.
Without Dach and Armia
Kirby Dach and Joel Armia will not jump on the plane Sunday morning en route to the American West. According to the team’s version, Dach will sit out indefinitely due to a lower body injury.
In Armia’s case, he will be assessed on a daily basis for a respiratory infection.
If there were reports for four players, the CH continued its radio silence with Sean Monahan. And it’s the same story with Brendan Gallagher. Number 11 still wore a protective boot on his right foot.
With Kaiden Guhle and Edmundson likely to return, CH has fired defender Corey Schueneman with the Laval Rocket.