Kaiden Guhle won't be in the Montreal Canadiens' lineup for the start of the season, and the wait might stretch into November.
TVA Sports insider Renaud Lavoie confirmed Monday that the defenseman went under the knife after last spring's playoff run, closing the loop on weeks of speculation.
The signs were already there for anyone paying attention. Guhle has been spotted near the ice without his skates on, and skating solo in a tracksuit, in recent weeks.
So the question isn't really what happened anymore. It's when he gets back.
Lavoie pointed to November as the realistic window for Guhle's return to the Canadiens' blue line.
He also pushed back on the darker rumors making the rounds.
"I've heard catastrophic scenarios like December," Lavoie said. "That doesn't make sense and I don't think it'll happen. He wants back, but Montreal wants him to wait so this doesn't happen again."
Guhle's injury history keeps piling up on Montreal
The issue that finally sent him to surgery had been bothering him for a long time, according to Lavoie's reporting.
This isn't Guhle's first trip to the operating table. He also had surgery on his adductor muscles after getting hurt in the October 16, 2025 game against the Predators in Nashville.
That's the pattern that should worry the Canadiens more than any single procedure. A 24 year old defenseman who can't stay off the shelf is a real problem, not a footnote.
Over four seasons in the league, Guhle has played just 208 regular season games. That includes only 39 last season, a number that tells you how often his body has betrayed him.
When healthy, he's shown he belongs. He posted 11 points in those 39 games last season and followed it with 8 points over 19 playoff games.
St-Louis leans on puck-moving defensemen, and Guhle is part of that group.
Losing him to start the year puts more on Michael Matheson and the rest of a blue line that has to cover the gap.
Kent Hughes signed off on a $5,550,000 cap hit for a player who keeps ending up in surgery instead of the lineup.
At some point, durability becomes part of the evaluation, whether anyone wants to say it out loud or not.
For now, Montreal waits. And so does Guhle, watching from the sideline as his teammates open a season he still can't be part of.
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Is Kaiden Guhle's injury history now a bigger concern than his talent?
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