Kaiden Guhle: “It’s too early to say whether he’ll be ready for the start of the season”

Yesterday, we learned that the Canadiens would be starting training camp without Kaiden Guhle.

The defenseman underwent emergency surgery to remove his appendix. And according to the Habs’ schedule, the defender’s case will be re-evaluated in a week’s time, i.e. next week.

The result? He’ll miss the first few pre-season games.

Even if, in an ideal world, Guhle wouldn’t miss the start of camp, we agree that all this is a lesser evil. After all, the Habs aren’t aiming for the Stanley Cup: they’re #InTheMix only.

But what if his absence is prolonged?

This morning, on the heels of his column on BPM Sports’ Le club du matin, Renaud Lavoie was asked if he had any news on Kaiden Guhle.

And the man who asked some well-placed people about the subject says it’s too early to say whether he’ll be ready for the start of the season.

Because there are other assessments to be made in his case, no one wants to stick their neck out and answer the question this week. Even though, under normal circumstances, he should be ready.

But the fact that the subject was raised on the radio and that the nuance was made may serve as a warning. We’ll see if anything is announced next week.

After all, it’s clear that at the moment, it’s too early to say.

Should Guhle miss the start of the season, I wonder if Martin St-Louis could move David Savard to the first defense pairing, alongside Mike Matheson. Together, the Québécois could eat up big minutes against opposing big trios.

Inevitably, this would open doors for the youngsters. With Arber Xhekaj and Justin Barron expected to make the club, this would potentially leave three more spots if Guhle were to start on the injured list.

Lane Hutson, Logan Mailloux, Jayden Struble, David Reinbacher, Adam Engstrom and William Trudeau, in no particular order, are the most logical candidates to break into the line-up.

What’s also noticeable is that without Guhle, the club’s depth would really be tested. Two youngsters would have to be in the defensive top-4 for a few games, and the Habs would be even less watertight defensively.

And to me, the glaring lack of depth on defense is further proof that the Habs will have a hard time staying #InTheMix for months to come…

Overtime

– Draft 2025: Caleb Desnoyers (10) and Émile Guité (17) are in Bobby Margarita’s top-20.

IN POLE POSITION – Boston College freshman center James Hagens is the near-unanimous choice for No. 1 on TSN’s annual Pre-Season Ranking for the 2025 draft complied by @TSNBobMcKenzie: https://t.co/53u4z5j1gK

– TSN Hockey (@TSNHockey) September 19, 2024

– Three years, $4M per year for Dawson Mercer with the Devils.

Three years at $4 mil per for Dawson Mercer and the Devils. Sounds like it was finalized last night during the Jets/Pats game.

– Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) September 20, 2024