Could Kaiden Guhle Be A Trade Chip?

Sure, it feels as if he could be a key part of the team moving forward. It should be noted that, based on the Habs’ current hierarchy, he is a 3rd-pairing defenseman on the Habs’ left side behind Lane Hutson and Mike Matheson. With that being said, a team in need of a left-handed top defenseman may be willing to give up something that would be of need for the Canadiens straight up for Guhle.

By trading Guhle for a right-handed defenseman or 2nd line centre, it could be a win-win situation for both teams. One team that could potentially come to mind is the Seattle Kraken, who have a plethora of young centres that have the potential to be a 2nd line centre for years to come, such as Shane Wright or Matty Beniers, while not having nearly the same depth on defence makes for an interesting trade partner that many people may not be expecting. It should be noted that in the days before the Noah Dobson trade, and on the day of last year’s NHL Draft, there wasn’t much discussion of that being a possibility, which is why a trade with the Kraken involving both Guhle and Beniers could truly materialize.

Many Habs fans may be hesitant to trade a guy like Guhle who is one of the more consistently physical defensemen on the team. However, at the same time, he has had a lot of trouble staying healthy throughout his first 4 years in the NHL, where he has missed 120 regular games in that time. This means that he has missed an average of 30 games a season thus far throughout his NHL career. Nonetheless, he has proven that he is a solid top 4 defenseman when he is at full health. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to stay in the lineup consistently enough to truly be able to cement himself in the Canadiens’ top 4, which may have played a factor in why Matheson was extended during the season for another 5 years.

The truth is Guhle has rarely ever had the same injury occur more than once, and it’s more a fact that there may not be a more unlucky player when it comes to getting hurt besides him (maybe Kirby Dach, but he has had a recurring injury). A change of scenery could be something that allows Guhle to turn his injury luck around. Either way, considering that his injuries haven’t been recurring ones, he has the chance to turn that luck around, whether he stays in Montreal or not, down the road. That fact may be why he could potentially have a lot of value on the trade market.

At the very least trading Guhle should be something that the Habs entertain to improve their team. As a proven NHL talent who has the potential to still improve as a top 4 defenseman, Guhle can be something that a team in a rebuild like the Kraken could have interest in for a trade. Despite this, the injury history probably will still hurt his value in some way, but the Kraken’s young centers’ value has also dropped a bit over the couple of seasons.

For example, Beniers has yet to get back to the form that made him the runner-up for the Calder Trophy following his rookie season, where he had a career-high 24 goals and 57 points in 80 games. At the time, he showed that he may be developing into a potential 1st line centre. Ever since, Beniers hasn’t shown that potential. Still, he has shown consistent steady progression each season since his sophomore slump back in the 2023-24 campaign, when he put up 15 goals and 37 points in 77 games.

This past season, he reached 20 goals and 50 points for the 2nd time in his career and showed that he still has the potential of being a solid 2nd line centre in the NHL someday, at the age of 23. The thing is he just likely won’t be the elite first-line centre he showed flashes of early on. This is why he could be had for Guhle if the Habs and Kraken were to discuss a trade. Of course, due to their draft positions (Guhle 16th overall vs. Beniers 2nd overall), the Habs may need to add a little more in a deal to get Beniers. However, it won’t need to include any of the Habs’ top prospects or a 1st round pick, which could allow the Canadiens to use those assets to improve the team elsewhere.

Getting a player like Beniers definitely shouldn’t be a first priority for the Habs, as guys like Mason McTavish, Dylan Strome, and Nico Hischier would be better options, but he or even Shane Wright could be a backup plan if the reported linked names fall through for the Canadiens. If that is the case, Guhle could easily be the best option to get a deal done, and given their current roster, the 24-year-old defenseman is arguably expendable.

Would you consider moving Guhle in a trade for Matty Beniers or another young centre to be their future 2nd line centre?