Kirby Dach and Kaiden Guhle on the long-term injured list (even though they skated this morning)

Kent Hughes spoke to the media this morning after acquiring Phillip Danault.

An interesting question was posed to the GM regarding the payroll: publicly, the data says the club is over the cap. What's going on?

And the GM said that Kirby Dach and Kaiden Guhle have been placed on the long-term injured list.

An administrative decision to comply with the cap with the arrival of Danault. https://t.co/y91W8BR2lH

– Nicolas Cloutier (@NCloutierTVA) December 20, 2025

It's easy to think that it's curious to see the club's two big injuries closest to a return (I don't consider Mike Matheson a big injury since it seems to be short-term) on the LTIR.

Both skated this morning.

Kirby Dach and Kaiden Guhle on the ice before the morning skate. pic.twitter.com/9T6to01PEm

– Sean Farrell 27 (@seanfarrell27) December 20, 2025

But you have to understand that this can be done retroactively. So that just means that when the guys return, another personnel move will have to be announced.

We'll see in due course.

Also note that Phillip Danault is not expected to join the Canadiens in Montreal or Pittsburgh (on Sunday): it should be in Boston, for the last game before the holidays.

Details to follow…