Canadiens ink Guhle to 6-year, $33.3M extension
The Montreal Canadiens have locked up defenseman Kaiden Guhle with a six-year contract extension carrying an average annual value of $5.55 million, the team announced Wednesday.
Guhle is entering the final year of his entry-level contract before the extension kicks in for the 2025-26 campaign. The deal includes a five-team no-trade list in the final two seasons of the contract, per PuckPedia.
"I believe in the group that we have," Guhle told reporters after signing, according to NHL.com. "I love the city. The city's been nothing but great to me. The fans have been unbelievable. They're definitely the best fans in the league - if not in sports.
"So, it's just the city and the guys (that prompted me to stay). I believe in this group so much, and I think we'll (be) able to make a big splash in the next year or two and really start to make a push for it."
The 22-year-old tallied six goals and 16 assists in 70 games with the Habs last season. He averaged 20:51 per contest - the second-most among the team's regular blue-liners - and added 116 hits and 178 blocks.
Guhle, who's listed at 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds, posted impressive underlying numbers in 2023-24 despite combatting difficult matchups on the team's top defensive pairing with veteran Mike Matheson.
Kaiden Guhle projects to become a decent No. 2 defenseman and has already proven his chops taking on tough minutes the last two seasons.
— dom 📈 (@domluszczyszyn) July 31, 2024
A $5.55M deal looks to be a steal for what he's expected to be during the life of the deal. pic.twitter.com/kubAt440DC
The Canadiens drafted Guhle 16th overall in 2020. He's expected to lead a wave of promising young defensemen in Montreal's system, including David Reinbacher and Lane Hutson.
Guhle, a native of Edmonton, Alberta, has also represented Canada on the international stage at the 2021 World Junior Championship and the 2024 World Championship.