It would be understandable if Arber Xhekaj wanted to leave

Arber Xhekaj finds himself in a somewhat precarious situation.
He still hasn't signed his contract for next season, and the Canadiens' training camp is set to begin in just a few days.
How will this situation be resolved? 
Nicolas Cloutier published an article in which he discusses the fact that the team's blue line is crowded. The journalist explains it well: seeing that there are several defensemen ahead of him, Arber knows he might have a more limited role in the lineup.
His role has alr

We're already well into September, which means the home stretch of the 2026 Major League Baseball season is well and truly underway.So without further ado, here's the very latest edition of Passion MLB's power rankings. Last week's rankings are shown in parentheses.
1 – Milwaukee Brewers (1)
2 – Atlanta Braves (6)
3 – Tampa Bay Rays (3)
4 – Los Angeles Dodgers (2)
5 – New York Yankees (5)We're also discussing Aaron Boone's future. https://t.co/ClDBAyw0zT https://t.c

Vancouver Queer Film Festival When: Sept. 10–20Where: Various theatres and online (Sept. 21–27)Tickets and info:queerfilmfestival.caIn 1911, an 18-year-old Inuk woman named Nancy Columbia wrote and starred in a silent movie.Released in 1911, The Way of the Eskimo told the story of an Inuk woman caught between an Inuk hunter and a white trapper. Produced by Chicago’s Selig Polyscope Company and directed by William V. Mong, the approximately 14-minute film was based on a story by

We’ve made much of Anne Hathaway’s Big Year, but Florence Pugh is also having a big year, appearing as Yelena Belova in Spider-Man: Brand New Day before she returns for Avengers: Doomsday, and just as Annie did double duty press this summer with The Odyssey and The End of Oak Street, Miss Flo will do double duty press in December with Doomsday and Dune: Part Three. She’s the living embodiment of Dunesday.But first comes October and Zoe Kazan’s series adaptation of East of

The Canadiens won’t be playing exclusively on RDS and TVA Sports this season.
We knew that Prime would broadcast some games. In fact, the network is still looking for a tagline (Quebec-themed?). We also knew there would be seven Habs games on Wednesdays.
Today, the dates were confirmed.Wednesday nights just got a lot better.The 2026–27 NHL on Prime Video schedule is here.
See you soon, Canada.pic.twitter.com/LjGrzgAofM
— Sports on Prime Canada (@SportsOnPrimeCA) September 3, 20

It's been two months since Shohei Ohtani last pitched. But since he's Shohei Ohtani, he's still hitting so well that he's considered one of the best players in the world.
The MVP should go to Pete Crow-Armstrong, but you get my point: he's still excellent.
Even though he wasn't able to pitch on Sunday in Detroit, the Dodgers are still hoping he'll be fit enough soon to see him take the mound in September.
However, they've likely given up on the idea of him being able to pitch six innings in an O

As Jennifer Aniston has said many times, we’ve had a front row seat to her love life for the last 30 years. Not because she’s personally invited us to the show, at least not all of the time, but she’s not lying about the fact that we have been right up in her business since Friends. So while we might not know even a fraction of the truth behind all her romances, we know enough. We know that, for the most part, she’s fallen in love with other famous people, actors and musi

Scott Wheeler (The Athletic) compiled a ranking of young prospects affiliated with an NHL team.
He compiled a list of U-23 players with his colleagues. He then asked 15 National Hockey League scouts to refine the list to ensure a representative ranking.
The result is quite interesting and is available here for those who are curious.Welcome to Prospect TiersThe top 145 under-23 players in hockey, ranked into five tiers by 15 NHL scouts.Free to read, with insights from the panel of scouts througho

Preparations are quietly underway at the CN Complex, where the Habs' training camp will begin in less than two weeks.
All of the Canadiens' players are back in town, except for Juraj Slafkovsky, who is still in Slovakia. We can assume he's expected in Montreal within the next few hours.
This morning, 12 forwards, six defensemen, and three goaltenders laced up their full gear.
Nick Suzuki (for the first time since June), Cole Caufield, Phillip Danault, Josh Anderson, Kirby Dach (who looks in grea

The Venice Film Festival has begun, and next week, TIFF begins. We’re in the fall festival crunch, with Venice, Telluride, and TIFF running concurrently (Telluride is this weekend). The opening night film of TIFF is Being Heumann, Siân Heder’s follow-up to her Oscar-winning film, CODA. Being Heumann is a biopic of disability rights activist Judith Heumann, and a very fun little teaser dropped yesterday.British actress Ruth Madeley, who has spina bifida and uses a wheelchai

Let's step away from baseball for a moment and turn our attention to the NBA, where the lengthy investigation into the Los Angeles Clippers and Kawhi Leonard regarding a possible circumvention of the salary cap has finally concluded.
According to the league, the investigation conducted by the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz revealed a pattern of multiple significant violations by the Clippers regarding the league's salary cap.
The California-based team reportedly entered into an agre

Dear Gossips,Last night at the Venice Film Festival opening night gala, George Clooney received the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement. As mentioned earlier this week, Venice is a special place for him, and he said emphatically during his speech that it’s his favourite festival – he spends a lot of time in Italy with his family, he was married there, and so many of his films have premiered there.So yesterday was a whole day of George in Venice and we could do three posts about what

In recent weeks, it has become clear that Gleb Pugachyov might start the next season not necessarily in the KHL, but rather in the MHL or the VHL.
He still has a lot to prove, in fact.
After a training camp where he didn't stand out any more than necessary, one might have wondered what lay ahead for him at the start of the 2026–2027 season.
But now, social media has provided a clear clue.
A photo of the Canadiens prospect, taken against the backdrop of an official team photo, is circulatin

The B.C. film industry is in another wait-and-see scenario after U.S. President Donald Trump called on Congress to create federal tax incentives to help bolster the United States’ film industry.Gemma Martini , board chair for Screen B.C. and the founder and CEO of Martini Studios in Langley , said the TV/film industry is a global business and every major production hub around the globe is “analyzing ways to remain competitive.” And the U.S. “is now doing the same.”

This week, the New Jersey Devils acquired Luke Evangelista from the Predators.
In return, the Preds received a conditional first-round pick and a second-round pick. Both picks are for the 2028 draft.
It's unclear whether the Devils acquired him to use him right away or to give themselves leverage in a potential trade with the Wild, but either way, he's a great addition. #QuinnHughes
In fact, this also served as a reminder that, yes, trades like this can indeed happen in September.
But does that

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. isn’t having a great season. The Blue Jays’ star seems to have lost all his power, which isn’t ideal.
The team hasn't lived up to expectations this season, and its star player's poor performance has certainly played a part in that.
That said, the Blue Jays are still in the playoff race. And after losing the first game of a crucial series against the Guardians, the team needed a win last night.
And Vladdy finally had a good one. He recorded three hits in fo

A simple outfit has become a major talking point surrounding the Cleveland Browns.
A
key
member
of the team's front office appeared before reporters wearing a particularly unusual T-shirt, which quickly sparked numerous reactions on social media.
The shirt, which had a visible hole in it, displayed a phrase that did not go unnoticed: “Los Angeles Made Me Do It.” This direct reference to the California metropolis immediately caught the attention of
Cleveland fans, especially given tha

The Canadiens are urging patience in the market right now.
We know that Kent Hughes hasn't found the right deal to make a move so far this offseason. He doesn't want to overspend on the wrong player.
That's a good thing, obviously. But…
But one day, he'll still have to pay the price for the right guy. Eventually, he'll have to do what he hasn't been able to do for the past year: trade assets to acquire a top-6 player.
Hughes came close to doing so at the trade deadline with Matthew Knies,

The Connor Hellebuyck situation is far from resolved in Winnipeg.
After publicly requesting a trade, it remains to be seen whether the Jets will grant his request quickly and before the start of the season.In the meantime, speculation is running rampant, and Jeff Marek offered a rather interesting comment on the podcast “The Sheet.” Credit to HabsolumentFan for digging up the news.
Jeff Marek: Regarding Connor Hellebuyck: This type of arrangement has happened before…sign the d

On the agenda (among other things) this week: the passing of Jacques Doucet, the potential return of baseball to Montreal, the Blue Jays’ push for the playoffs, and the sale of the Angels.
Enjoy the show.Just a reminder that anyone who wants to listen to us live can do so every Wednesday at 8 p.m. on Facebook, X, and YouTube. We record live to answer everyone's questions.
However, those who prefer to listen in a more traditional podcast format can do so at any time on all major podcast pla

The golf tournament and the rookie tournament are coming up, and hockey is finally in the air in Montreal. Barring a major turnaround, the Habs will head into training camp without a true top-6 center in the NHL.That will be the battle to watch during camp. Oliver Kapanen, Alex Newhook, Kirby Dach, and Jake Evans should all have the opportunity to prove themselves.
Ideally, the Canadiens would have had a better option, but Kent Hughes didn't make any major trades this summer, and Michael Hage is

It's early September, training camp starts at the end of the month, and two key players are still without contracts.
You know exactly who I'm talking about; do I need to say it again?
As for Arber Xhekaj, his agent, Brian Bartlett, declined to comment last week. Today, he opened up a bit more, but still refuses to reveal his hand. He says he's still in talks with the Canadiens, but nothing is set in stone yet. That's according to an article by Louis-André Larivière in La Page Sport

The NHL is doing well.
It may not be the league with the highest revenue, but…
The salary cap keeps rising, which is a good indicator of the NHL's financial health. In basketball, the Clippers just paid a hefty fine: five lost first-round picks and a $30 million penalty. Team executives and Kawhi Leonard also faced penalties.
Alan Walsh, who isn't one to mince words, even said it was either this consequence for the Los Angeles Clippers or the end of the salary cap era in the NBA. The leag

Yesterday afternoon, it was reported that the Los Angeles Angels had been sold. Arte Moreno, the team's controversial owner, will be stepping down in favor of Stan Kroenke.
We're talking about a guy with experience in the world of sports, whether with the Rams (NFL), the Avalanche (NHL), or the Nuggets (NBA). And above all, he's very wealthy.
In total, Kroenke spent $4 billion to acquire the Angels. And the future owner, apparently, has no intention of stopping there.
According to Barry Bloom (F

This morning, The Athletic published a ranking that's sure to get people talking.
The list ranked players in order of importance: MVP, franchise players, stars, and role players.
In fact, two Canadiens players are in the latter category: Ivan Demidov and Jakub Dobes.The @TheAthleticNHL released its NHL Player Tiers for 2026-27, and 7 #Habs players made the list.However, no Canadiens player made it into Tier 1 (MVP).
Who do you think has the best chance of reaching Tier 1 in the future? @TheAthle

Ernie Clement Is Engaged
Great news.Blue Jays’ Ernie Clement gets engaged to longtime girlfriend in the middle of a road trip https://t.co/nm5IaTpcrK pic.twitter.com/ongs8LZ7sQ
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) September 2, 2026Tribute to Bob
It's already been 10 years since he passed away.
We've put together this tribute series marking the 10th anniversary of Bob Bissonnette's passing.A conversation with his close friend, Michel Laplante: https://t.co/1wJM4LBiTI
— Mika&eu

Things are really hitting the fan in San Jose.
A loose translation of “the shit hits the fan,” by the way.
What? What's going on with the Sharks' lineup? Nothing!
A few days ago, a former teammate of Evander Kane's (2020–21) named Kurtis Gabriel kicked things off by openly stating that the guys in the locker room had had enough of Kane.
Evander Kane later mentioned on X that he would one day make up his mind and share “his truth,” and that when that day comes, he'll

Every two weeks there’s a fresh rumour about who will be the next Bond. But it’s not really all that fresh because every “new” story about the new Bond always recycles the same names that have been speculated about for months. One of those names is Jack Lowden who was seen this week out in London with our beloved Saoirse Ronan.Saoirse and Jack welcomed their first child about a year ago. We do not know exactly when the baby was born but they were seen with a pram during t

I’m not necessarily talking about Sydney Sweeney being back in Venice for the film festival, it’s Venice in general, for other reasons, including Scooter Braun. Because last year she was in Venice for the Bezos wedding and Scooter was there too and that is presumably when their relationship started. And now it’s looking like it’s pretty serious because she was with him and his kids the other day in LA doing the most LA thing – getting a smoothie.Today, though, she&r

There have been rumors surrounding Robert Thomas for quite some time.
We know the Blues have received quite a few calls about the center in recent months, which is to be expected given the club's position looking ahead to the coming years in the NHL.
The Ontario native is a valuable player…
(Credit: Hockey DB)
The Blues have always refused to trade him. But despite that, doubts remained, since the new GM has the freedom to be tempted and seriously consider a trade.
But now…
Since t