It's been just eight days since Kaiden Guhle had his appendix removed — and the Montreal Canadiens defenseman is already back on the ice, the team announced on Thursday.
“Defenseman Kaiden Guhle resumed skating on his own this morning and is being evaluated on a daily basis,” the club wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
The Habs confirmed last week that the 22-year-old had his appendix removed on September 18.
It's certainly excellent news from a Canadiens perspective; Guhle was one of the club's better blue liners in 2023-24, chipping in six goals and 22 points over 70 regular-season contests. It was the Sherwood Park, Alberta native's second NHL season; he added 18 points in 44 games in his rookie year.
A former No. 16 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, Guhle played junior hockey with the Prince Albert Raiders and Edmonton Oil Kings in the Western Hockey League before breaking into the league in 2022-23.
With his entry-level deal expiring at the end of the 2024-25 campaign, Guhle signed a six-year, $33.3 million extension on July 31 to remain in Montreal for the foreseeable future. He'll make just over $863,000 this season, and $5.55 million AAV for the next six seasons after that.
“The city has been nothing but great to me. The fans have been unbelievable and definitely the best fans in the league, if not in sports,” the youngster said shortly after signing the contract, per NHL.com.
“I think it's just the city and the guys, and I believe in this group so much and I think we'll be able to make a big splash here in the next year and really start to make a push for it.”
Guhle added: “I believe in this group and the guys in the room, and I think obviously that the management does, too. We've all been together for, this is going to be my third year now, and some of the guys longer, and I think it's exciting to get to see what we can do.”
Canadiens have one of NHL's youngest blue lines
Along with Guhle, four of the other six defensemen on Montreal's roster are under the age of 24. While Mike Matheson, 30, and David Savard, 33, remain key pieces of the blue line, it's clear that the youth revolution is taking over in Quebec.
Arber Xhekaj, 23, Justin Barron, 22, Jayden Struble, 23, and Lane Hutson, 20, should all be in the lineup along with Guhle during 2024-25.
“I was telling Matheson that I’m the third oldest defenseman on the team right now,” Xhekaj told reporters on Thursday. “I’m 23 and I don’t even have a 100 games so it’s pretty crazy. But it’s fun to have a young core and we’ll see what we can do.”
After finishing dead last in the Atlantic Division, it should be nowhere but up for Guhle and the Canadiens this season. It'll be interesting to see how much the team improves on a 30-36-16 campaign with the addition of Patrik Laine and a fully healthy campaign from former No. 3 overall pick Kirby Dach.
The Habs begin the new season against their rival Toronto Maple Leafs at the Bell Centre on October 9.
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