By the numbers: Kaiden Guhle ranks among the top defensemen in the NHL during the 2026 playoffs

Félix Forget
By the numbers: Kaiden Guhle ranks among the top defensemen in the NHL during the 2026 playoffs
Credit: Perdre Guhle aurait été une catastrophe pour le Canadien.

Kaiden Guhle, much to his chagrin, often makes headlines for his injuries. The defenseman frequently misses games due to health issues, which isn't ideal.

Generally, when he's criticized, it's not for his level of play—it's more for his lack of availability.

Except that since the start of this playoff run, Guhle has been healthy. He hasn't missed a single game… and behind the scenes, he's having an exceptional playoff run.

In 16 games, Guhle has tallied eight points, all recorded at 5-on-5. He's also not afraid to hit and block shots… and that makes him truly among the elite NHL defensemen in these playoffs.

Anthony Martineau painted a clear picture of this: Guhle looks (very) good when you compare his 5-on-5 stats to those of his peers.

Obviously, part of this is due to the fact that Guhle has played a lot of games. That said, if we look at his points per game, we see that his average of half a point per game ranks him 20th in the league.

And that's including all game situations, not just 5-on-5. And we know Guhle doesn't play on the power play.

Guhle flies a bit under the radar because he isn't as electrifying as Lane Hutson and doesn't get as many minutes as Mike Matheson or Noah Dobson. That said, we see Guhle as a defenseman who is possibly playing the best hockey of his career right now… and who is a major part of his team's success in these playoffs.

And if the Habs want to make it to the finals, they'll need their #21 to keep playing some really, really big hockey. Let's see if he can do it.


In a nutshell

– And it's not about to slow down.

– Well done.

– The city is truly all about hockey.

– Note:

– Interesting.

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