Kaiden Guhle was back at practice on Friday, but does that mean the Montreal Canadiens' defenseman is ahead of schedule?
There was a surprise in Brossard on Friday morning: Kaiden Guhle was not only on the ice before practice, as he has been several times in the last few days, but he also joined the Montreal Canadiens’ full practice and wasn’t wearing a no-contact jersey. Don’t get overexcited; it doesn’t mean he will be ready for the season’s start on Tuesday night when the Habs visit the Toronto Maple Leafs.
When Martin St-Louis was asked if the defenseman was ahead of schedule in his post-practice media availability, he replied: “I have no idea; I know he’s most likely not starting the season”, while vice president of hockey communications Chantal Machabee said nothing had changed from the timetable that was given to the media at the start of camp, which stated he would be out four to five weeks. That update was given on September 16, meaning that he should be available somewhere around October 14 or 21.
The coach also explained that when he’s told an injured player will skate on a given day, he says OK; he doesn’t ask when he'll play, since he knows it’s part of his rehabilitation process. He added that he has full confidence in the medical staff and that they know what speed a player needs to go at during recovery.
While Guhle recovers, the Canadiens are left with a big hole on their blueline, and we should know in the coming days whether David Reinbacher will benefit from it. On Friday, he returned to training with Group A, which likely means he'll play in one of Saturday’s split-squad games, but the real answer will come when the Canadiens can finally make cuts after their preseason schedule ends Saturday night.
Reinbacher won’t be the only one holding his breath either; Florian Xhekaj and Adam Engstrom were also back with Group A on Friday, meaning they might still have a chance at a roster spot. Although their road to a roster spot is a path less travelled, especially for Xhekaj, with so many forwards on NHL contracts. If spots were given on merit alone, the power forward would likely be in the lineup, but it’s more than that. As for Engstrom, he also has plenty of competition since he is a left-shot blueliner, like Arber Xhekaj and Jayden Struble, who are both on NHL contracts. Patience; the answers are coming…
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