Shorthanded: The CH Needs Kaiden Guhle to Stay Healthy

Mathis Therrien
Shorthanded: The CH Needs Kaiden Guhle to Stay Healthy
Credit: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Kaiden Guhle is truly a solid, defensively minded defenseman in the National Hockey League's top four, and at just 24 years old, he still has tremendous potential.

Unfortunately, since the start of his career, Guhle has more often than not been sidelined due to various—and often unfortunate—injuries.

That's a shame, and it's clear that this is a source of some concern for the Canadiens.

In four seasons with the Habs since his NHL debut, the young Canadian defenseman has played in just 208 of a possible 328 games.

Guhle has thus played in 63% of the Habs' games since joining the team—far too few, considering he was clearly hampered by injuries in some of the games he did play.

Last season—the 2025–2026 campaign—was Guhle's worst, as he played in just 39 games.

It's therefore clear that the Canadiens need a much healthier Kaiden Guhle next season, given that he's a very important defenseman when he plays, especially on the penalty kill.

Indeed, as Patrik Bexell explains in his latest article, one of the biggest factors in the Habs' success on the penalty kill is Kaiden Guhle.

Since David Savard's departure, Guhle has stepped up as the physical, defensively minded defenseman, and he performs very well when he's healthy.

He learned from Savard, who was an expert, making him a key asset for the Habs both in the top-four defense and on the first penalty kill unit.

Many often think that Guhle is no longer essential to the team's success because the Canadiens win even when he's injured, but ultimately, the Habs would be even better if Guhle could stay healthy.

We saw this in the playoffs, when #21 played in all 19 of the team's games, recording eight assists and logging significant ice time each night against the opponent's top players.

In short, the Habs need Guhle on the penalty kill, as that's an aspect of the game that can very well be the difference between a win and a loss.

So we really hope that Guhle will be healthy for at least 70 games.


In a Nutshell

– We're all looking forward to it.

– That's awesome.

– Stay tuned.

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