Guhle’s Hard Minutes

The Montreal Canadiens have trotted out a young defensive core with limited experience over the last two seasons.

Consequently, Guhle has been asked to provide a service he was perhaps not quite yet ready for: the job of going head-to-head with the best players the NHL has to offer. Being in the Atlantic division means facing the likes of Nikita Kucherov, Auston Matthews and Aleksander Barkov on a nightly basis.

Guhle finished second among Montreal Canadiens players in total ice time. He also finished third among Canadiens defencemen in percentage of shifts starting in the defensive zone, trailing behind the two blue-line veterans David Savard and Mike Matheson. In these shifts, Guhle started at a disadvantage even before the puck dropped, which is not a role a young twenty-two-year-old is often challenged with.

All this to say, Guhle’s underlying numbers were not stellar, but the odds were stacked against him due to his usage.

On that note, there comes a point where a high draft pick with Guhle’s upside must perform at a level where he can be trusted with these hard minutes.

Kaiden Guhle’s Revolving Door of Defensive Partners

There’s an element in hockey that’s impossible to dispute.

Players perform better when they have familiarity on the ice.

Having familiarity means having consistent linemates, or in Guhle’s case, having a consistent defensive partner. The more someone plays with the same partner, the more chemistry and comfort they will build, positively affecting their overall play.

Guhle spent much of his year playing with almost all defencemen who suited up for the Canadiens this past season. The lack of consistency in usage was yet another hurdle the young defenceman had to jump.

Having a steady partner with whom Guhle can gain trust and confidence will be another big part of him taking a positive jump in the 2024-2025 season.

As a player, it helps to know your teammate’s habits and patterns. Especially being a defenceman, it helps to know where your partner will be when you go back to retrieve a puck in the defensive zone. The best defensive duos in the NHL do not even have to look sometimes; they will know where their partner will be. That is what Guhle needs to find in a partner to shut down opposing teams’ top lines, and he will only find this if he plays more with the same partner. 

Guhle Playing His Off-Side

While he has faced many challenges throughout his young career, playing on his off side may be the greatest challenge of them all.

Being a left-handed defenceman playing the right side has its challenges, and is considered playing the “off-side”. Guhle spent much of his time playing the right side when paired with Mike Matheson, which makes it hard on a defenceman for a variety of reasons.

For example, breakouts are a little more complicated. Defencemen on their offside are constantly exposing the puck, rather than shielding it with their body.,

It also makes it harder to receive D-to-D passes, as you have to shift your whole body to receive it on the forehand. Doing this makes it harder to see what is happening up the ice, making it much harder to make a breakout pass up to the forwards.

As a forward, it is also much easier to forecheck a defenceman on their off-side because the puck is much more exposed.

This often forces the defenceman to make the breakout pass on the backhand, which leads to more turnovers than making a pass on the forehand.

Simply put, making plays on the backhand automatically increases the odds of turning the puck over. 

For Guhle to be at his very best, the Montreal Canadiens must find a way to return him to his natural position on the blue line. Once his usage is properly adjusted to put him in a situation to thrive, it will be up to Guhle to take the next step.