Hockey

Kaiden Guhle: the Habs tried to avoid surgery (but realized the obvious)
Félix Forget
Kaiden Guhle: the Habs tried to avoid surgery (but realized the obvious)
Credit: Screenshot : Twitter

Are you familiar with the expression “adding insult to injury”? If you haven't, here's a good example: the Habs giving a (negative) medical update on Kaiden Guhle while everyone waits for news on Alex Newhook.

A long absence for Newhook was expected. But (another) long absence for Guhle hurts, given that his return was supposed to be imminent.

So it's only logical to ask what happened in the defender's case. Because, in fact, not only was he due back soon, but we saw him skating just last week.

And on this subject, Renaud Lavoie gave us some information. What you need to know is that, at the outset, the club knew that the operation was a possibility. But before proceeding, we tried to see if a return to fitness would be enough to see Guhle healthy again.

But in the end, he didn't respond well to last week's on-ice sessions. So it was clear to everyone, and Guhle underwent surgery yesterday.

We know that, generally speaking, we always hope to see athletes get healthy via a return to fitness rather than via an operation. And in Guhle's case, we obviously tried this avenue to see if a full recovery was possible.

And obviously, it wasn't possible. But that's probably why he didn't undergo surgery right away.

This means that the Habs, whose defensive game has been in serious trouble for some time now, won't be able to simply wait for the savior's imminent return. The six defensemen who are there now will have to step up their game, because they're the ones who'll be holding down the fort for the next few months.

The Hutson-Struble duo, for example, are really going to have to settle down. It's very difficult for both guys at the moment.

Of course, it's frustrating to see Guhle sidelined again in the long term. That said, injuries are part of the game… and the next few months will test the six regular defensemen in town.

Guhle should be back for the final sprint, at least. But it's without him that the Habs will have to hold out for a good part of the campaign… once again.


Overtime

– Well-deserved.

– He's a transformed player this season.

– Zach Hyman: his return is imminent.

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