Overview
- Montreal brought up center Florian Xhekaj from the Laval Rocket and reassigned forward Joshua Roy to Laval.
- Jake Evans left Thursday’s game following a hit by Washington’s Tom Wilson, with no penalty called as the Capitals scored moments later.
- Xhekaj has two goals and two assists in 16 AHL games this season and is expected to add effort and physicality in the short term.
- If Evans misses time, Montreal’s options down the middle narrow to Nick Suzuki, rookie Oliver Kapanen, and offensively limited Joe Veleno.
- Top Laval scorer Laurent Dauphin is on an AHL-only deal while Owen Beck is the other NHL-contracted center, and a potential pursuit of Alex Texier remains speculative and contingent on a mutual contract termination.