Before the 2024-25 season started, Montreal Canadiens GM Kent Hughes put pen to paper on a six-year extension for Kaiden Guhle. The rugged defenseman became the first blueliner earmarked as a Habs' young core member, joining forwards Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Juraj Slafkovsky.

Canadiens: The Grades Are In – Mike Matheson
Canadiens: The Grades Are In – Arber Xhekaj
Canadiens: The Grades Are In – Lane Hutson

Hughes’ decision to extend him before the end of his ELC proved correct; had he waited another year, the price tag probably would have gone up, given the 23-year-old's season. While he again lost some time to injuries, they were less concerning this season. An appendicitis can happen to anyone, and the lacerated quad was a freak injury.

In just 55 games, Guhle put up 18 points, blocked 124 shots (the third highest total on the team, but second highest average per game), and landed 104 hits (seventh on the team with 1.89 hits per game).

While Guhle’s play is not as exciting as Lane Hutson’s, he can be just as useful. The six-foot-three and 202-pound blueliner has a knack for distributing bone-crushing hits, he’s not afraid to block shots and played a significant role on the penalty kill.

Ever since joining the team, his plus/minus rating has been improving. He went from minus-19 as a rookie to minus-eight as a sophomore before shooting up to plus-six this season.

Guhle’s most impressive asset, however, has got to be his decision-making. Thanks to his elite ability to read the game, he rarely hesitates before committing to a play, and it’s quite rare that he makes the wrong decision.

He can also provoke a momentum shift when he dishes out those big hits. When Cole Caufield was asked what Guhle does for the team, he got a few laughs from the media by replying, “He destroys people”, but that was true. While he’s not going to drop the gloves like Arber Xhekaj, he will have opponents looking over their shoulder when he’s on the ice.

Canadiens' Cole Caufield Scores After Kaiden Guhle's Massive Open-Ice Hit Watch as the Montreal Canadiens start the game with a bang as Kaiden Guhle delivers a huge hit, followed by Cole Caufield's goal against the Canucks.--------...

His imposing and steadying presence on the Canadiens’ blueline will be valuable for years to come, and the scary thing is, there’s nothing to indicate he’s reached his ceiling yet. For all these reasons, I believe Guhle deserves an A for his performance this season.

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