yardbarker
The Montreal Canadiens will have defenseman Kaiden Guhle back in the lineup for Saturday's home matchup against the Detroit Red Wings, the team announced. This marks Guhle's first appearance of the 2026-27 campaign.
Guhle had been out of action since undergoing a minor procedure on his adductor muscle during the summer. Montreal revealed the surgery on September 16th, providing a recovery timeline of four to five weeks. He was subsequently placed on injured reserve on September 28th after missing the entirety of training camp.
The 24-year-old returned to a standard practice jersey on October 5, at which point head coach Martin St. Louis indicated he was nearing a return to game action. Saturday's comeback arrives just before the front end of that original recovery window, following his absence from the Canadiens' first four contests.
This is just the latest in a string of injury setbacks for Guhle. Last season, he was limited to 39 games after undergoing surgery in November to repair a partial adductor tear. He made his return on January 10—coincidentally also against Detroit—and concluded the year with two goals, nine assists, and an average ice time of 19:28 per game. The former 16th overall pick then appeared in all 19 postseason games as Montreal advanced to the Eastern Conference Final.
During the previous season, Guhle had surgery in January 2025 to fix a lacerated quadriceps muscle.
In Guhle's absence, the Canadiens have relied on Arber Xhekaj and Adam Engstrom as their third defensive pairing, with recently traded Jayden Struble serving as the seventh defenseman. For Saturday's game, Montreal plans to dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen, as forward Florian Xhekaj will be sidelined with an undisclosed injury, according to Marco D'Amico of BPM Sports.
Guhle is in the second year of a six-year, $33.3MM extension that carries a $5.55MM cap hit through 2030-31. In 208 games with the Canadiens, the Calgary native has recorded 51 assists and 69 points.
Originally reported by yardbarker.