Kaiden Guhle May Play On Wednesday

The original timeline for Guhle’s return was 4-6 weeks for a groin injury, but on November 14th, it came out that he actually needed surgery on a partially torn adductor muscle, which would keep him out for 8-10 weeks. Fast forward to now, and the Habs’ 23-year-old blueliner is really close to returning to the Habs lineup.

According to what Engels heard around the team, Guhle has started taking part in practice at full contact with the Habs as soon as Tuesday morning (it has been confirmed). Even if he doesn’t play on Wednesday, Engels said that he would be very surprised if we don’t see Guhle suit up by at least the end of the week. 

The fact that the Habs are getting Guhle back really soon is incredible news, as of all the injuries that have hit the Habs this season, Guhle’s surely stung the most, as there was nobody that could perform to the ability that he does and step into a top 4 role.

As a result of the injury, Lane Hutson hasn’t been able to have a stable partner next to him for the past 36 games; it has been a rotation between Jayden Struble, Alexandre Carrier, and Noah Dobson ever since.

With that being said, the return of Guhle will allow the Habs’ best and most dynamic defenseman to be partnered up with someone who can be a stable force defensively in the team’s top 4. However, in Guhle’s absence, not only did Hutson continue to produce offensively, but he also improved a lot in his puck battles and overall defensive positioning by finally being able to play on the left side when being paired with Dobson or Carrier. This could be the one downfall about re-pairing Guhle and Hutson, because while Hutson can play the right side, he is better playing on his left side. Nonetheless, they should still be a solid pairing together like before.

Once Guhle is fully healthy at 100%, a pairing with Guhle’s solid & physical defensive play next to Hutson’s incredible offensive skills can make them easily the best pairing on the team once again.

At the time of Guhle’s injury, the Canadiens were in the midst of having a very strong start to the season, as they were 4-1 through the first 5 games. In one of his 5 games this season, Guhle even scored the game winner with a perfect shot from the blue line against the Chicago Blackhawks. He may not be known for his offence, but when given the opportunity, Guhle is able to contribute to a fair share of goal scoring. He doesn’t have the hardest shot, but it is deceiving, which is something that will add just another dangerous weapon to the Habs’ 2nd-best offence among their blueliners, behind only the Colorado Avalanche.

It would be great to see Guhle get back in the lineup on Wednesday, but even if he doesn’t, just being really close is excellent news for the Habs’ blue line. Hopefully he can just figure out how to stay healthy the rest of the season, and this could allow the NHL’s 6th best team to only get better going forward. The Habs have done really well as of late without him, but there is no denying he is a big part of the team, and they will be much better off with Guhle.

Who do you see coming out for Kaiden Guhle once he’s ready to go? Jayden Struble or Arber Xhekaj?