Cole Caufield back on ice at Habs camp; Xhekaj under contract

Montreal Canadiens Cole Caufield skates during the first day of on ice training camp Thursday, September 23, 2021 in Brossard, Quebec. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

BROSSARD, Que. — Forward Cole Caufield was back on the ice with his Montreal Canadiens teammates Monday morning.

Caufield suffered an upper-body injury during warm-ups for the Habs' intrasquad game on Sept. 26. He missed the final week of activities.

The 20-year-old American returned to the right side of the lineup with Tyler Toffoli and Nick Suzuki. Brendan Gallagher was relegated to the right of Joel Armia and Jake Evans.

Goaltender Samuel Montembeault, who was claimed from the Florida Panthers on Saturday, took part in his first practice with the Habs.

The Habs awarded a three-season rookie contract to defenceman Arber Xhekaj, who was invited to the rookie camp and then to the main camp.

The deal will pay Xhekaj $750,000 U.S. in the NHL in 2021-22 and 2022-23, and $775,000 in 2023-24, while it will pay him $70,000 in the American Hockey League.

Xhekaj was also cut from training camp and will report to the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL.

A 20-year-old from Hamilton, Xhekaj played 51 games in 2019-20 with the Rangers, collecting six goals and 11 assists while serving 88 penalty minutes. The six-foot, three-inch, 204-pound defenceman did not play in 2020-21, following the cancellation of the OHL season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Oct. 4, 2021.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)