Montreal Canadiens Practice Notes: Kaiden Guhle Injury Update

The Montreal Canadiens started the day by announcing defenceman Kaiden Guhle is currently day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

This lines up with what Elliotte Friedman said yesterday. It’s positive news, relatively speaking. At the very least, it does not appear that the injury will require surgery.

Of course, losing a player like Guhle for any period of time is unfortunate, but the Habs have had particularly awful luck in the injury department lately, so fans can take his ‘day-to-day’ status as a win.

Le défenseur Kaiden Guhle est aux prises avec une blessure au haut du corps. Son cas est évalué quotidiennement.

Defenseman Kaiden Guhle is day to day with an upper-body injury.

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) October 19, 2023

There was fear that Guhle’s injury was more serious, but thankfully, the injury did not seem to require the type of surgical intervention that was necessary for various other injuries.

Last season the Canadiens lost Cole Caufield for the remainder of the season when a shoulder injury came to the forefront. The Habs also lost forward Kirby Dach early in the year to a season-ending knee injury. Dach damaged both his MCL and ACL and will need more than six months to rehabilitate his serious injuries.

This is Guhle’s third injury since joining the league. Last season he missed time with a knee injury, not to mention a high-ankle sprain that was serious enough to put an end to his season.

Even though he’s only listed as day-to-day, removing Guhle from the defensive equation is not an ideal situation for head coach Martin St-Louis.

Guhle plays a pivotal role in the Canadiens’ defence, and has produced some very encouraging underlying numbers this season. His numbers immediately improved the moment he was no longer used alongside David Savard.

The team has not announced a call-up from the Laval Rocket yet. Justin Barron is right-handed, but he can simply jump into the lineup to ensure the team ices a legal roster. But if they do eventually proceed to promote a player from the AHL, expect players such as Mattias Norlinder and William Trudeau to be considered.

The Montreal Canadiens are back in action on Saturday when they host the Washington Capitals at the Bell Centre. The puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.