The Montreal Canadiens have sent Adam Engstrom down to the Laval Rocket, a move dictated by Kaiden Guhle's imminent return.
On Thursday morning, the Montreal Canadiens announced that Adam Engstrom was assigned to the Laval Rocket. It’s not because the 22-year-old didn’t perform well, but rather because Kaiden Guhle will soon be back. In 11 games, the Swede was held off the scoresheet but had a plus-three rating, took seven shots, landed four hits, and blocked five shots. Averaging 12 minutes 32 seconds of ice time, he shows great mobility, poise, and a good first pass. Whether it’s with the Canadiens or elsewhere, he will soon be a fully-fledged NHLer, but with Guhle’s return, it’s better from a developmental standpoint that he heads to Laval and gets more playing time.
On Wednesday morning in Brossard, Guhle received a warm welcome from his teammates as he practiced in a regular jersey for the first time since the team announced he had undergone surgery to repair a partly torn adductor muscle, adding that he would return in eight to 10 weeks. It will be eight weeks since the announcement on Friday, and it appears the Albertan is on schedule.
At practice, he was able to handle contact and play his regular style of play, so it wouldn’t be a shock if he was inserted in the lineup on Thursday night against the Florida Panthers. With no practice on Thursday morning and a day off being scheduled on Friday, there won’t be a full practice for a couple of days.
With no morning skate ahead of the tilt against the Panthers, we won’t know about any lineup changes until Martin St-Louis speaks to the media around 4:00 PM. Should he decide to insert Guhle in the lineup, one of Jayden Struble or Arber Xhekaj would have to make way. Given how solid a game Xhekaj played on Wednesday, Struble would be the logical choice.
So far this season, Guhle has played only five games, picking up a goal and an assist, but his defensive play is incredibly important for the team and helps stabilize the defense corps.
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