Canadiens Activate Oliver Kapanen, Place Florian Xhekaj On IR

By Brian La Rose | at October 17, 2026 1:00 pm The Canadiens have made a pair of roster moves in advance of their game tonight against Buffalo. The team announced that center Oliver Kapanen will make his season debut, meaning he has been activated off injured reserve. To make room for him on the roster, winger Florian Xhekaj has been placed on IR.

The 23-year-old played in three preseason games last month and appeared to have sustained a lower-body injury in the final one. He was given a day-to-day designation at the time but wound up missing more than three weeks because of the issue in the end. Kapanen was one of Montreal’s more pleasant surprises last season.

After playing a very limited role at the beginning and end of 2024-25, he was able to land the second center role early last season and ran with it. He potted 22 goals, one shy of the rookie lead league-wide, while chipping in with 15 assists. While he faded down the stretch, he still finished 11th in Calder Trophy voting and made a handful of appearances in the playoffs.

He’s expected to take Owen Beck ’s spot on the fourth line to start. Meanwhile, Xhekaj landing on injured reserve should come as no surprise. The rookie has missed the last three games with a lower-body injury.

With a retroactive placement, he’ll be eligible to be activated at any time although the team revealed on Friday that he’s expected to miss at least a couple more weeks with the injury. Xhekaj has made two appearances this season, bringing his career total to seven overall. View Comments (0)