The Montreal Canadiens recently made a splashy move on their blue line, with the Habs signing defenseman Mike Matheson to a five-year contract extension worth $30 million. The signing came just over a month after Montreal inked reigning Calder Trophy winner Lane Hutson to a massive eight-year, $70.8 million extension.
Given the pair of moves that the Canadiens pulled off to secure the long-term security of Matheson and Hutson on the blue line, there could be a decision to be made by the team concerning another d-man, particularly Kaiden Guhle, who put pen to paper in July of 2024 to complete a six-year, $33.3 million deal.
The 23-year-old Guhle comes with a cap hit of $5.5 million and will not be a free agent until the end of the 2030-31 season, but the question is whether Montreal would end up moving him somewhere else.
Teams are said to have kicked the tires on a potential trade for Guhle, though the Canadiens have not budged.
“Teams have inquired, but the Canadiens have no intention of moving Guhle. Despite interest over multiple offseasons, Montreal views him as a core piece due to his physicality, mobility, and defensive value,” Marco D'Amico of RG shared.
Injuries have been a problem for Guhle in his NHL career, which can be used as leverage for other teams to seek a lower asking price to acquire him. He is currently out and expected to miss multiple weeks after going under the knife in November to address an adductor muscle injury.
The interest from other teams, particularly of “some Western Conference clubs,” in Guhle goes as far back as a couple of seasons ago, but was “met with an immediate denial,” Amico added.
In 174 games played in the NHL, Guhle has 17 goals and 43 assists for 60 points to go with an unimpressive 41.1 percent Corsi for rate.
