Canadiens place Byron on LTIR, recall D Xhekaj

The Montreal Canadiens place forward Paul Byron on long-term injured reserve and recalled defenceman Arber Xhekaj from the Laval Rocket on Tuesday.

Byron has been sidelined throughout training camp with a hip injury. The 33-year-old was limited to 27 games last season after undergoing hip surgery in July, 2021. He had four goals and seven points in those 27 games.

Les Canadiens ont placé Paul Byron sur la liste des blessés et ont rappelé Arber Xhekaj du Rocket de Laval. The Canadiens have placed Paul Byron on LTI and recalled Arber Xhekaj from the Laval Rocket. pic.twitter.com/3HhcXgmKFY

The 33-year-old is signed through this season at a cap hit of $3.4 million. He has 98 goals and 208 points in 521 career games.

Xhekaj sent the past three seasons in the OHL, posting 12 goals and 34 points in 51 games last season with the Hamilton Bulldogs and Kitchener Rangers.

The 21-year-old was undrafted to begin his professional career.