Canadiens' Arber Xhekaj out indefinitely with upper-body injury

One of the bright spots for the Montreal Canadiens and their fans this season has been the emergence of Arber Xhekaj. The young defenseman basically came out of nowhere to make an impact at the NHL level, bringing an intimidating level of physicality to the rink every night.

Unfortunately, that rookie season may be cut short. The Canadiens have announced that Xhekaj will be out indefinitely with an upper-body injury suffered on Sunday against the Edmonton Oilers.

No clear timeline has been determined yet, but the injury appeared to be related to his right arm or shoulder after a fight with Vincent Desharnais.

Through 51 games this season, Xhekaj leads the NHL with 101 penalty minutes and has landed 159 hits to lead the Canadiens easily. Those numbers are despite averaging just 15 minutes a game on the back end, alongside several other of the Montreal youngsters.

Even though his toughness will stand out more than anything, Xhekaj has also impressed with his real NHL ability. He has five goals and 13 points, even occasionally seeing some time on the powerplay. That is an incredible feat for an undrafted defenseman coming right out of junior hockey.