Kaiden Guhle logged 25:02 in Dallas last night. By this morning, his name was sitting in the middle of the Canadiens' blue line logjam.
Frank Seravalli laid it out on Sportsnet. The Canadiens have to decide where Adam Engstrom, David Reinbacher and maybe Luke Mittelstadt fit into their plans.
Any of the three could move. Or their play could force out Guhle or, down the road, Mike Matheson.
Picture a dinner party with eight guests and six chairs. The Canadiens have eight defensemen on the roster, and there's still a prospect knocking at the door.
The timing is awkward, because the Canadiens are rolling. Four straight wins and second place in the division.
The back end has carried a lot of that. Montreal has allowed four goals total during the win streak.
Mike Matheson's $6 million deal looks like the obvious exit
Shopping Guhle right now would be a mistake, and the numbers back it up. He's +5 with three points over his last five games.
He also carries the heaviest load. No Montreal defenseman saw more ice against the Stars, not Alexandre Carrier at 23:47 and not Lane Hutson.
At 24, with a $5,550,000 cap hit, he's exactly the kind of defender contenders call about. That's why the Canadiens should hang up.
Matheson is a different conversation. He's 32, he carries a $6,000,000 cap hit, and he's listed day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
He's expected out until at least Saturday, when the Penguins come to Montreal. The last time these teams met, Pittsburgh won 6-5 in overtime.
The kids keep making the case. Engstrom picked up an assist and went plus-1 in 10:42 of work last night.
Reinbacher is a tougher read. He has dressed once this season, went minus-1, and wasn't in the lineup against the Stars.
Mittelstadt hasn't cracked the NHL roster yet. Seravalli putting him in the same sentence as Guhle and Matheson tells you how deep this pipeline runs.
Then there's Arber Xhekaj, held scoreless through 12 games. Nobody named him, but a third-pair job is a third-pair job.
Kent Hughes doesn't have to rush anything. The Canadiens are 5-1-1 on the road and winning games with the group they have.
But Saturday could force the first call. If Matheson is cleared, somebody who earned his spot ends up in the press box, and Martin St-Louis has to pick who.
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More details to come.
Should the Canadiens trade Kaiden Guhle to clear room for Adam Engstrom?
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