
Once again, on Tuesday night, there were a lot of scouts at the Montreal Canadiens’ game. As has been the case lately, there was a scout from the Nashville Predators, but also a couple from the struggling St. Louis Blues, and one from the Vancouver Canucks, who have let it be known they are open for business.
As things stand, the Habs could undoubtedly do with some reinforcements up front. With Patrik Laine, Alex Newhook and Kirby Dach sidelined by injury, the young Canadiens could use some experienced forwards or another hockey deal for an impact player.
Defensive And Goaltending Woes Lead The Canadiens To Another Defeat
Canadiens: On The Eve Of Celebrating Andre Markov…
Canadiens: Caufield Wins Second Consecutive Molson Cup
According to Marco D’Amico from Research Ground, teams are showing interest in often-injured defenseman Kaiden Guhle, but as things stand, the Canadiens are not interested in moving him. Given how highly they think of the 23-year-old rearguard, this is not surprising. However, it could be a missed opportunity if he keeps being injured with the same regularity.
There’s no denying that the Habs are used to making do without the Albertan. In four seasons, he has never played more than 70 games in a year, a mark he reached in his sophomore campaign. In his rookie season, he played 44 games; in 2024-25, he played only 55. This season, he’s already missed another 20 games, and he’s not set to return any time soon (the update provided post surgery indicated he would miss eight to ten weeks).
Granted, those are not recurring injuries; he was unlucky to have an appendectomy last season, his quad muscle injury was a freak accident, and this year he tried to avoid surgery on a partly torn adductor muscle but had to get it in the end. In the past, he’s also had head and knee injuries.
Whichever way you look at it, Guhle is a very talented player, and the Canadiens are a better team when he’s in the lineup, but too often, he just cannot be. If Montreal is serious about getting some help for their top six (think Blues’ Robert Thomas or Jordan Kyrou, for instance) and not just a rental player, dangling Guhle could have been an interesting idea, but that’s not something the team is ready to consider, according to RG.org.
Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.
Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.
Join the discussion by signing up to the Canadiens' roundtable on The Hockey News.
Subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here.