Florian Xhekaj: Pierre Dorion wanted him at any price with the Senators

Dose
Crédit: (Photo by Reuben Polansky-Shapiro/NHLI via Getty Images)

On Saturday night, Florian Xhekaj played his first NHL game. Arber’s little brother took the opportunity to collect his first point (an assist) and to fight his first career battle in the Bettman circuit.

All this on a Saturday night at the Bell Centre against the Maple Leafs… with his brother as a teammate and his parents in the stands. Nothing less.

For a fourth-round pick two years ago, that’s a pretty meteoric rise. After all, he played one NHL game before the fifth overall pick of his draft. We’re talking about David Reinbacher here.

What’s interesting is that many teams turned up their noses at Xhekaj at the draft. That said, there was one team that didn’t get a look-in until the 101st pick (the one used to select Xhekaj): the Ottawa Senators.

And Pierre Dorion, speaking on Le Retour with Martin Lemay, admitted that he was desperate to select Florian.

It’s worth remembering that in 2023, the Senators held no picks in the first three rounds of the auction. The club’s first selection came at 108th, seven spots after Xhekaj was chosen by the Habs.

So it’s safe to assume that if he hadn’t been the Habs’ pick at 101st, Xhekaj would have been selected 108th by the Senators… and you have to wonder if he would have been selected earlier than that if the club had been able to draft before 108th.

Of course, you’d think the whole thing would have been rather peculiar. We know that there’s been a big rivalry between the Habs and Senators for a few years now, and the games between the two clubs are pretty physical.

Imagine if the two Xhekaj brothers were at the heart of that rivalry: it would have been quite something.

And of course, if the two clubs don’t like each other, you have to wonder how much the Senators wanted Florian to piss off their rival. I don’t doubt that Dorion and the Sens loved him… but it’s an open question.

The good news is that all that is in the past: Florian is now in Montreal with his brother… much to the Senators’ chagrin.

Overtime

– Speaking of the Xhekajs.

– Sidney Crosby: a perfect fit for the Habs, according to Chris Johnston. [The Athletic]

– Alexandre Carrier knows: he needs to try to get hit less often.

– J’adore.

– Wow.