Canadiens' Chris Kreider's Injury Creates Prime Opportunity For Florian Xhekaj

Montreal Canadiens veteran winger Chris Kreider suffered a serious knee injury this week. While the Habs will miss Kreider's experience, there's now an opportunity that's opened up for another player. And that player is young winger Florian Xhekaj, who will be a regular for the foreseeable future.Under GM Kent Hughes and president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton, the Montreal Canadiens have made excellent moves, almost across the board. And one of their lates moves was signing veteran Chris Kreider. As always in professional sports, one man’s misfortune is an opportunity for others. And that’s now true for Montreal’s players who have the chance to step in for Kreider and assert themselves as important components of the Canadiens.First of all, while Kreider has three goals and nine points in 19 games this season, he wasn’t getting a ton of ice time, averaging only 13:21 per game. That’s his lowest total since his rookie year, way back in 2012-13. But Canadiens coach Martin St-Louis has been using Kreider on Montreal’s fourth line, and now that Kreider is sidelined, the player who will be getting his minutes is young winger Florian Xhekaj. Related storiesIn eight games this season, the 22-year-old Xhekaj has averaged just 7:50 of ice time, but that number almost assuredly will rise now, and Xhekaj has the chance to add to the three points he's scored this season.Just being in the lineup on a daily basis should infuse Xhekaj with confidence, and playing on Montreal’s fourth line with center Jake Evans and winger Josh Anderson will result in a steady number of shifts for Xhekaj, who has only 13 games of NHL experience under his belt in two seasons. And at a time when the Habs have only $1.98 million in salary cap space, Xhekaj’s $941,667 salary is the type of deal that will free up cap space to address other issues for the team.Meanwhile, Xhekaj has every motivation to play well, as he’s in the final season of his contract and will be an RFA this summer. So, with this opportunity, Xhekaj can establish himself as a long-term piece of the puzzle for the Canadiens.Like his brother, Arber, Florian has a robust physical game, and that’s not going to change now that he’s getting this new opportunity. The Habs want to be tough to play against, and Florian Xhekaj can clearly help in that regard.Xhekaj is never going to fill up the scoresheet, and when Kreider does return, Xhekaj could be relegated back to the press box. But you never know what other injuries could arise between now and then, and St-Louis will be looking to Xhekaj to force his hand and keep him in the lineup over the long haul.Xhekaj quickly became a fan favorite in Habs Land, and while Kreider is also appreciated for his skill set, Xhekaj now gets a chance to play regularly and grow his game for everyone to see. Kreider may only barely get to double digits in goals when he does return to action, but if Xhekaj comes in and shows he’s got spunk to spare, Kreider’s injury could be a blessing in disguise. For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free.