Montreal Canadiens Lock Up Kaiden Guhle On Six-Year Contract Extension

The Montreal Canadiens began negotiating a contract extension with Kaiden Guhle when he became eligible on July 1st. It didn't take long to lock up their star defenseman on a six-year, $5.55 million AAV deal. The deal will run from 2025-26 to 2030-31.

Guhle was one of the Habs top defensemen in 2023-24, playing in 70 games. He tallied six goals and 16 assists, but his strength was his work at the defensive end. He ranked second in shot blocks with 178 and was third on the team with 20:51 ice time per game.

Guhle's performance didn't go unnoticed, as Hockey Canada named him to the 2024 IIHF World Championship team. Guhle was a star on the squad, recording one goal and four assists over nine games.

The contract creates an important threshold for the Canadiens with their defensemen, much like Nick Suzuki's contract with the forwards. It's hard to imagine that any upcoming deals will come in above Guhle's unless David Reinbacher turns into a star upon his debut. Regardless, that would be two years away. Guhle is now the leader of the Canadiens' blue line and will hold that distinction for as long as the Canadiens keep him around.

It has been an important two days for the Canadiens defense core. Guhle's contract is the third in the last 24 hours after Arber Xhekaj and Justin Barron signed extensions on Tuesday.