On July 31, the Montreal Canadiens signed third-year defenseman Kaiden Guhle to a six-year extension with an average annual value of $5.55 million. This new contract will take effect after the upcoming 2024-25 season, as Guhle is currently in the final year of his entry-level deal. Drafted 16th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft, Guhle was highly regarded even at that time. He began his professional career in the AHL, playing three games with the Laval Rockets right after being drafted. He then returned to the WHL for that season and one more before making his NHL debut.

Guhle has shown during his two seasons in the NHL that he is a terrific defensive defenceman. He was tested right away, averaging 20:00 minutes a night in his rookie season. He added four goals and 18 points in 44 games during that rookie campaign. This season Guhle averaged 20:00 minutes once again. He also improved his point totals to six goals and 22 points while playing in 70 games. Despite very lackluster point totals from Guhle, what earned this extension is his ability to kill penalties and provide significantly above-average defense.

Why Sign Kaiden Guhle to an Extension Now?

Defensive defenceman league-wide gets paid less than explosive offensive defencemen. With Guhle being primarily a shutdown blueliner, it has limited his cap hit for this contract. Signing him now when he is first eligible is brilliant by Ken Hughes.

Guhle, like the rest of the Canadiens, is anticipated to take another step forward in the rebuild this upcoming season, leading to more goals and competitive games. As a result, Guhle will be relied upon even more as an elite defenseman. With a healthy Christian Dvorak and Josh Anderson, the Canadiens will have a much deeper roster. With an expected increase in 5-on-5 scoring this season, Guhle’s point totals should rise accordingly. By securing Guhle’s contract now, before his point totals climb, the Canadiens are locking in their future top-pairing defenseman at a very favorable cap hit.