The Montreal Canadiens have signed restricted free agent defenceman Arber Xhekaj to a one-year, $1.5 million contract and forward Alex Newhook to a four-year, $22.2 million deal that comes with a $5.55 million cap hit.
Newhook, 25, registered 13 goals and 12 assists in 42 games last season. He produced 10 points in 19 playoff games, including two series-winning goals in Game 7 against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Buffalo Sabres.
Xhekaj, 25, recorded a goal, four points, and 116 penalty minutes in 65 games with the Montreal Canadiens last season while averaging 11:25 of ice time.He added a goal and two points in 13 playoff games as the Canadiens were eliminated in the Eastern Conference Final.
The 6-foot-4, left-shot defenceman is coming off a two-year, $2.6 million contract that carried a cap hit of $1.3 million.
Originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Canadiens in 2021, Xhekaj has 10 goals and 33 points in 230 career games.
Newhook was scheduled to become a restricted free agent following the 2026-27 season. The St. John’s, NL native has played 338 NHL games with the Colorado Avalanche and Canadiens, where he has scored 70 goals and 51 points. He won a Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in 2022.
He was originally selected 16th overall by the Avs in the 2019 NHL Draft.
