The Montreal Canadiens sent defenceman Adam Engström to the Laval Rocket on Thursday, ahead of the second half of their back-to-back against the Florida Panthers.
Les Canadiens ont cédé le défenseur Adam Engstrom au Rocket de Laval.
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) January 8, 2026
The Canadiens have loaned defenseman Adam Engstrom to the Laval Rocket. pic.twitter.com/9uHC014Lql
This could mean that Kaiden Guhle is set for a return to the lineup, but not necessarily on Thursday. Canadiens head coach Martin St-Louis mentioned that he was very happy with the play of Arber Xhekaj and Jayden Struble in Wednesday’s win against the Calgary Flames, so it would be easy to think that Engström wouldn’t have been in the lineup anyway.
Engström did well in his recent stretch of NHL games, not looking out of place. He has no points in 11 NHL games this season, but is a +3 and showed that he has an NHL future ahead of him.
Guhle, who has been skating with the Canadiens this week, hasn’t played since October 16, the team’s fifth game of the season. His return will be a big boon to the Canadiens defence and penalty kill. While they have improved lately, he will certainly help put people in the right chairs, as St-Louis likes to say.
