A Montreal Canadiens player had the third hardest shot in the league in 2023-24

In October 2023, the league launched NHL Edge, an advanced statistics section on its website. While it went largely unnoticed by most fans, the league published a two-page summary (see The Hockey News’ Yearbook) of various metrics.

The two-page spread shows the top three players in terms of maximum speed, fastest shot, total distance covered, percentage of dangerous shots, dangerous saves and time in the attacking zone.

Fans who attended the Canadiens’ skills contest at the Bell Centre in February won’t be surprised to learn that defenseman Arber Xhekaj had the third-fastest shot in the league last season, clocking in at 102.23 mph. Colin Miller of the Winnipeg Jets had the fastest shot of the year at 102.59 mph, while Darren Raddysh of the Tampa Bay Lightning came in second with a 102.40 mph rocket.

Xhekaj had unleashed a 107.2 mph bomb at the skills competition, not too far off Zdeno Chara’s all-time record of 108.8, which he set at the 2012 NHL All-Star Skills Competition. However, having the third-hardest shot of the season in a competitive game is far more impressive.

Another Canadiens defenseman reached the podium in a different category: skating distance. Colorado Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon took first with 300.15 miles, Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin was second with 299.29 miles, while Montreal’s Mike Matheson was third with 295.31 miles.

The Philadelphia Flyers’ Owen Tippet was the fastest skater with a speed of 24.21 mph, the Edmonton Oilers’ Zach Hyman led the way in dangerous shots with 180, the New York Rangers’ Artemi Panarin had the best dangerous shooting percentage at 36.6 percent, Jordan Binnington had the most dangerous saves, and the Carolina Hurricanes had the most time in the offensive zone at 46.6 percent.

Want to see more interesting stats? Head over to NHL Edge and see how other Canadiens players compare to the league leaders.

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