Introduction
Kaiden Guhle is already a household name for most Montreal Canadiens fans. Yet he’s only been in the NHL for two years, and was hampered by injuries at various points throughout. With a tougher road to the NHL, he has done well to become a pillar of the defence corps for the Habs. Even as a rookie, he was thrust into a top-pairing role, facing top players on a nightly basis.
It’s far from easy to play against the opposition’s best every night, but he did his best to prove that he belonged there and it seemed to push him to do his utmost every time he stepped on the ice. He found new ways to defend and outsmart his opponents as he adjusted to the pro game. Now, after a long summer resting and getting back in the gym to add more muscle to his frame, he won’t be very fun to deal with around the net, along the boards, or in the corners.
His last competitive action was at the World Championship, and while it wasn’t the team result that he had hoped for, it was a great experience for his development. Adding to the performance he had this year alongside Mike Matheson on the top pairing, he had a big sophomore year. For a 22-year-old defenceman, especially one playing for an Original Six franchise like Montreal, to carry himself the way that he did is mighty impressive.
Voting
Even though Guhle fell a couple spots from last year, it is mostly due to the new talent coming up the pipeline in Montreal. He is still very much a top player that most panellists and the community see as an important part of Montreal’s future.
It’s a more typical distribution of votes for Guhle, compressed into the four to seven range, but with placements as high as number one.
Top 25 Under 25 History
| 2023: #4 | 2022: #4 | 2021: #5 | 2020: #8 |
History of #6
| Year | #6 |
|---|---|
| 2023 | Lane Hutson |
| 2022 | Justin Barron |
| 2021 | Ryan Poehling |
| 2020 | Cayden Primeau |
| 2019 | Victor Mete |
| 2018 | Jesperi Kotkaniemi |
| 2017 | Charlie Lindgren |
| 2016 | Nikita Scherbak |
| 2015 | Jacob de la Rose |
| 2014 | Nikita Scherbak |
| 2013 | Nathan Beaulieu |
| 2012 | Louis Leblanc |
| 2011 | Louis Leblanc |
| 2010 | Danny Kristo |
Strengths
He has become not just an NHL regular but a legitimate top-four defenceman for Montreal. He’s tall, rangy, mobile, physical, and has a good vision of the game. Big guys aren’t supposed to be the fastest players, but he is fleet of feet. He can close on checks at a high level and stop rushes in their tracks.
He finished second among Habs defencemen in average ice time, and third among blue-liners in percentage of shifts started in the defensive zone (behind David Savard and Matheson). His underlying possession numbers were not great last year, but the odds were stacked against him due to his usage. He showed extended periods of stellar defensive play during the year that he will aim to make a regular occurrence in his third campaign.
Offence may never be a major component of his game, but he can make a decent outlet pass, skate the puck up ice, and has a hard point shot. At worst, he looks like a long-time second-pairing defenceman for the team.
Weaknesses
He doesn’t have many holes in his game but he does have two issues. In order for him to become a top-pairing defenceman, he must first and foremost stay healthy. He has missed 49 games in his two NHL seasons. His most recent injury led to missing the last seven games of the 2023-24 season when he sustained an upper-body injury from a Nikita Kucherov bodycheck. The Canadiens want to be more competitive starting this season, and Guhle’s presence in the lineup will be critical to that being the case.
Decent defensive numbers in the tough minutes he played are nice to see, yet low offensive totals may place on a limit on how high in the lineup he plays. Even in Junior he was never known for his offensive contribution, so it isn’t surprising that he’d have a similar development curve after making the jump to the NHL. How the Habs managed his usage also didn’t help his case as they made him spend much of his time playing the right side when paired with Matheson, making it tougher to play to his full potential.
Projection
There are plenty of things left to work on, but Guhle is a very good, mobile defenceman who’s still learning and growing while being thrust into a situation that isn’t to his advantage. The key thing here is that context matters, and you can’t ignore just how tough his minutes were. Switching Guhle back to his natural left side and allowing him to become more involved in the offensive zone should help him develop a more complete game.
He slots in as the clear number-two option behind Matheson on the left side. Who he plays with should be the only thing up for debate at this stage. Placing him with Logan Mailloux or Lane Hutson won’t help his offensive game blossom as he would remain the defensively responsible player on the pairing, but that would allow his partner to thrive. There is always the possibility of finding him a more all-around partner and let him develop his offensive game.
Either of these options seem preferable at this point to putting Guhle back with Savard, as that pair largely struggled. Guhle never got a chance to ease into the grind of the NHL, and one could hypothesize that this had something to do with his injury troubles.
His ceiling is that of a top-pair, two-way defenceman who has a lengthy NHL career. Getting him in the right role this season could go a long way to helping him reach that potential.
Eyes on the Prize own Nathan Ni joins the podcast to guide us through Guhle’s new contract, and future development by looking at his past performance.
2:15 – Kaiden Guhle’s new contract, is it good or bad?
6:15 – Can Guhle be a 1a defender, on either the left or the right side?
9:00 – Will a young defence of Guhle, Reinbacher, Hutson and Mailloux need a veteran presence?
11:15 – Guhle as a safety blanket for more impetuous players?
15:15 – Commercial Break
15:20 – Is there a hidden offence available?
19:45 – Projecting his future
22:00 – Organic development
23:15 – Targeting certain defenders for a certain kind of style.
25:30 – Commercial Break
25:45 – Expectations for next season?
30:30 – Guhle’s stability.
