Montreal Canadiens defenseman Kaiden Guhle is a good, even great player. Good, even great players get traded all the time, though. And, if a team is only willing to help the Habs upgrade at centre, so they can finally acquire that ever-elusive second-line pivot and solidify their strength down the middle, if Guhle is part of a package sent back the other way, the Habs must seriously consider it.
The Controversy of a Hypothetical Kaiden Guhle Trade
That shouldn’t be a controversial take, especially seeing as the thesis here isn’t that the Canadiens should actively shop Guhle. It’s more so that he shouldn’t be seen as untouchable as the March 6 trade deadline approaches. And even a sentiment as lukewarm as that will probably turn heads.
Understandable. Guhle is a first-round draft pick who’s just 24 years of age who’s already shown top-four if not top-pairing potential. The six goals and 22 points he scored in 70 games in 2023-24 hint at an all-around game that has already endeared him with fans and general manager Kent Hughes, who has obviously locked him up with a six-year, $33.3 million deal ($5.55 million cap hit).
All this speaks to Guhle developing into a key component of the core of this team, if he isn’t already. And, in a world in which “you don’t trade a player like Noah Dobson” is a thing, it’s easy to see the Canadiens coming to regret moving a player of Guhle’s calibre if they do decide to go that route… or at least Guhle blossoming into a defenseman elsewhere Habs fans lament losing, for decades.
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That too is a thing. Ryan McDonagh, anyone?
Blame Lane Hutson
Nevertheless, there is a difference between those two last scenarios. Habs fans can drink their sorrows away over what could have been if Guhle were to be traded away… and, unlike with McDonagh, it could still end up being a trade the Canadiens need to make for the betterment of the team. And, while, yes, Guhle’s adductor-muscle injury, which caused him to miss half this season, shed a light on the team’s defensive issues without him in the lineup, it’s hard to envision the right spot in that lineup now that he’s returned. You can maybe blame Lane Hutson for that.
Long story short, both Guhle and Hutson are left-handed defensemen. However, before Guhle got injured, they had been partners on the same pairing, with Guhle playing on his natural left side and Hutson playing on the right. That’s also how head coach Martin St. Louis deployed them against the Washington Capitals last postseason. With Guhle out, Hutson reverted back to his natural side, displaying even more dominance than Canadiens fans had grown accustomed to seeing from last year’s Calder Memorial Trophy winner to the point returning to the old status quo makes no sense.
The Habs have to keep Hutson on his natural side.
Handicapping one of the best players in the league doesn’t make much sense to me.
Yes, he can handle playing on the right, but he’s just above average in that role. He’s elite on the left.
Easy solution. https://t.co/hcp0o4wffL
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) January 23, 2026
Picture this: You need to make a regular trip. You have two options: a bus, which is cheaper, or a plane, which is more expensive, but more comfortable of an experience. You decide on the plane, but, on one such trip, at the airport, your plane gets grounded due to mechanical issues and you get booked on another one, and, through no fault of your own, you’re upgraded to first class.
In this clumsy metaphor, Guhle and Hutson are the plane. Hutson on the left side without Guhle is first class and, right now, the Canadiens are deciding between playing games in first class at no extra charge or playing them in economy, which, compared to the bus, is still a massive upgrade… but where are the hot towels?
If Guhle were as effective on his off side as he is on the left, this wouldn’t be an issue. However, as the stats show, he isn’t. And, if it comes down to playing one between Guhle and Hutson on the left, you’re going with Hutson, because you want your best players playing to the best of their abilities, and, while Guhle is great, Hutson is, uh, greater.
What Canadiens Can Do with Guhle (Without Trading Him)
So, what are the Canadiens’ options here?
Play Guhle on his off side with Hutson? That’s probably what they’ll do in the end, but, for the reasons just explained, it’s obviously less than ideal.
Play Guhle lower in the lineup? It’s a waste of his abilities if he’s reduced to playing third-pairing minutes, and, if the Canadiens approach it more as an opportunity to roll three pairings with similar ice time, it would arguably be a waste of Hutson’s (and those of Mike Matheson and Noah Dobson).
Play Guhle higher in the lineup? Sure, it’s possible. A Guhle-Dobson pairing seems like a perfect marriage of the capabilities of each. However, that would only be a likely outcome if the Canadiens hadn’t just extended Mike Matheson, Dobson’s partner, to a five-year deal.
Sure, Matheson is going to be 32 and you can’t count on him playing at as high a level as he has for the entire term of his latest deal. Fair point. And it pays to have someone like Guhle who can step into that role to complement Dobson near perfectly. In general, it pays to have players who can step in, in case of injury. That brings us to the elephant in the room.
More often than not, Guhle is the one injured. He has yet to play more than 70 games in a season. If he stays healthy the rest of 2025-26, he’ll only play by 42 this one. And, it’s by no means a given he does, with him having temporarily been taken out of Thursday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche after a Josh Manson hit.
Thankfully, Guhle returned to the game, but there was legitimate cause for concern for both his immediate health in that instance when he fell to the ice as well as his career outlook. While it may be unfair to label him injury-prone after just 3.5 NHL seasons, there have literally been instances where he’s suffered a significant injury resulting from a play on the ice that appeared completely innocuous, at least far more harmless than the Manson hit.
Guhle Still Brings a Lot to (Any) Table
It’s worth noting Guhle came back to notch the primary assist on Jake Evans’ eventual game-winning goal (even if it was more so Evans’ effort and a gaffe on the part of goalie Scott Wedgewood that directly resulted in the goal). So, Guhle obviously brings a lot to the table: size, physicality, defensive awareness, the ability to move the puck up ice… all things any team in the league would want in a defenseman, including the Canadiens… but, it would just be nice if he’s in a position to bring them to the table more often, and that’s not just with regard to his health, but his actual position when he is healthy. If all the Canadiens can offer him is a regular shift on his off side, he’s not playing to the fullest extent of his abilities and he might just be worth more as a trade chip.
Blasphemy, I know, but, again, if the New York Islanders can trade Dobson, the Canadiens can trade Guhle… just as long as it’s worth their while. There’s a lot of back and forth on social media between both fan bases in terms of which team got the better end of the trade. That’s only natural, especially following a trade of that magnitude, but, as unlikely as it may be in the minds of the most sane among us, even if Emil Heineman does turn into a 40-goal scorer, the Habs got the top-pairing right-handed defenseman they absolutely needed, because, and this can’t be stressed enough, Guhle’s not a right-handed defenseman. Otherwise, why make that trade?
Ultimately, Dobson has lived up to the billing, meaning the Canadiens shouldn’t regret the trade. The same can be true if they move Guhle. It would just have to be for a legitimate, proven centre. And, yes, there would be undeniable parallels between that and the McDonagh trade for the simple reason both he and Guhle are left-handed defensemen and Scott Gomez was a centre, but, if anything, that trade can serve as a blueprint of what not to do.
Don’t trade for a player whose best years are clearly behind him (unless you’re giving up expendable assets). That’s not Guhle. And, if you absolutely have to trade a player whose best years are still to come, just make sure who you’re getting fits in better with your long-term future plans than who you’re sending back the other way.
Bottom line: For the Habs to seriously consider this, they’d have to get a great player in exchange. That goes without saying. The argument to trade Guhle, not so much… because at face value it’s an admittedly unpopular proposition, incredibly so. That’s a testament to Guhle. He’s worth a great deal. It would take one to move him.
