In the latest paper edition of The Hockey News, Jared Clinton writes that the odds of Montreal Canadiens’ defenseman Kaiden Guhle becoming a regular 40-point-per-season or even a regular 30-point-per-season blueliner are slim.
That shouldn’t come as a surprise to many hockey fans, after all, he barely reached 40 points in his junior career, but that’s not what the Canadiens need him to be. They’ve already got good points producers on the blueline in Lane Hutson, Noah Dobson, and Mike Matheson, to some extent.
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What they do need him to be, and he’s on his way there, is a big, strong, and imposing body on the blueliner. That is what he already is, however, and with another big offseason of training, he’ll become even more intimidating.
Guhle knows who and what he needs, and you get the impression that there’s nothing he can't do, although there is one thing: staying healthy. He has skated in three NHL seasons so far, but the most games he has been able to play are 70.
Kent Hughes has already identified the 6-foot-3, 202-pound rearguard as a member of his core, but those are pieces you need to have in your lineup and not at the infirmary. This past season, he could only play in 55 of the 82 duels, although it needs to be noted that his first injury of the season could have happened to anyone, since nobody controls their appendix.
His lengthy absence this past season didn’t have dire consequences, but with the Canadiens looking to become competitive rather than just developing, the time when his presence would be almost essential is fast approaching…
Photo credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
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