Confirmed Signing with Link: [MTL] D Kaiden Guhle signs extension with the Canadiens (6 years, $5.55M AAV; begins 2025-26)

[ReimanSum1908]

An overpayment for a career number four defenseman.

 

[Treb]

5.5M for 6 years agreeing to that he clearly doesnt see himself as a future #1 or #2

Just like Hedman when he signed his 4M 5 years contract after his ELC.

What Guhle is doing is positioning himself for a big contract at the end of his 20s.

ELC (23) + 6 years (29)+ 8 years (37)
Instead of
ELC (23) + 3 years (26) + 8 years (34) + 3 years (37)
Or
ELC (23) + 8 years (31) + 6 years (37)

 

[zar]

Solid deal for the Habs.

This will be the type of contracts we will be seeing for mid pairing D with some RFA years (signing 4-6 year deals) during the next couple of years.

 

[MXD]

Just look at the last names and places of origin for each player. Par for the course for that poster.

...That doesn't make any sense lol.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

I don't get why people are so down on Suzuki. Hasn't missed a game in 4 years, born leader, led the team by a significant margin the last 3 years, 77 points this year.

He's not in the Mackinnon, McDavid, Draisaitl, Hughes tier, but he's still quite comfortably a top 32 C in the NHL.

Yeah, my point is you need more than a top 32C if you are trying to be a contender

Look at the list top centers on teams who have won the cup in the cap era:

Barkov
Eichel
Mackinnon
Point/Stamkos
O'Reilly
Kuznetsov/Backstrom
Crosby/Malkin
Toews
Kopitar
Bergeron
Datsyuk/Zetterberg
Getzlaf
E Staal

These guys were all much better centers in their primes than Suzuki.

 

[Boss Man Hughes]

He is a Morgan Riley type of player, not as much offense as Reilly, but a little better in his own end.

Great deal for both sides. He is still a kid......this contract will age very well.

Rielly is a mediocre offensive defensman. He refuses to shoot the puck. Guhle has a better shot but doesn't play the PP. Guhle may well be capable of 40-50 pts if he was on the PP.

 

[thewookie1]

Effectively if he stays healthy it'll be one hell of a nice contract, if not, I guess he'll be a frequent flier to Price's LTIR Estate

 

[KevinRedkey]

I read the title and some of the replies are was kind of perplexed as to why this was being met with positivity of any kind.

Then, I realised I was thinking of Lane Hutson, and not Kaiden Guhle. lol

 

[Frank Drebin]

Yeah, my point is you need more than a top 32C if you are trying to be a contender

Look at the list top centers on teams who have won the cup in the cap era:

Barkov
Eichel
Mackinnon
Point/Stamkos
O'Reilly
Kuznetsov/Backstrom
Crosby/Malkin
Toews
Kopitar
Bergeron
Datsyuk/Zetterberg
Getzlaf
E Staal

These guys were all much better centers in their primes than Suzuki.

Wasn’t krejci the #1 in 2011?

Looking at their production (57 and 62 points) they may have been 1a/1b

Getzlaf was a 58 point sophomore when Anaheim won
Suzuki at his peak could maybe rival ror

But the teams that had weaker centers were elite in other areas

Chara/thomas
Giguere/ pronger/ neidermayer

Blues just had a miracle run

 

[Jared Dunn]

Was hoping to see 8x6 but this is still pretty good, I think he's worth that already and it doesn't kick in for another year

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Wasn’t krejci the #1 in 2011?

Looking at their production (57 and 62 points) they may have been 1a/1b

Getzlaf was a 58 point sophomore when Anaheim won
Suzuki at his peak could maybe rival ror

But the teams that had weaker centers were elite in other areas

Chara/thomas
Giguere/ pronger/ neidermayer

Blues just had a miracle run

Yeah it was Bergeron / Krejci, which I wouldn't consider to be anywhere near "weak" in terms of C depth. Getzlaf / McDonald were the two top centers for Anaheim, Getzlaf had really come into his own by the time the playoffs rolled around, led the team in scoring on their cup run.

 

[Mrb1p]

Good for Guhle on this deal imo - takes him right to FA at the cost of a bit lower AAV. May not be worth the contract today but in a couple years when he's in his prime he should be a solid top 4 guy.

He's well worth his contract. He's every bit as good as Weber, Subban, Petry and Markov.

 

[Beukeboom Fan]

He's well worth his contract. He's every bit as good as Weber, Subban, Petry and Markov.

Are you comparing him to a 45 YO Andrei Markov?

I like Guhle, but the other guys you're talking about were somewhere between elite #1's (Weber, Subban, Markov) and lower tier #'1's (Petry).

 

[L4br3cqu3]

He's well worth his contract. He's every bit as good as Weber, Subban, Petry and Markov.

Beside Petry, no, he isn't, even comparing him to Markov and Weber is ludicrous, come on.

But I sure like him, and I hope he remains healthy enough to prove he deserves more by the time his contract is up.

 

[bringbacktheskate604]

I read the title and some of the replies are was kind of perplexed as to why this was being met with positivity of any kind.

Then, I realised I was thinking of Lane Hutson, and not Kaiden Guhle. lol

Ya I'm not a die-hard habs fan, due my heritage I was kind of forced to be one as a kid in the 80's but I've been a critic of Hughes and pretty much every move he's made and not passing on the obvious choice in Demidov doesn't change that.

But while not some watershed moment deal it's better than pretty much anything else he's done.

While thankfully the GM for the team I cheer for has shown he mostly does contracts based on current value, opposed to more futures based, at least this deal didn't go 8×8.

Everyone loves these 8×8++ deals right off an ELC but for me if right away the deal already needs to be defended with phrases like "if he breaks out this will be a steal in 3 years" then for me that's not good deal, especially with dmen because everyone just assumes these kids getting walked in year three will be savants by year five. At least with forwards who score right off the bat can still be stars if their defensive side doesn't pan out. Now giving a forward who's got a career high 30 points or scored 30 once a max deal for 7++ is just asking for buyers remorse.

 

[Fledgemyhedge]

Yeah, my point is you need more than a top 32C if you are trying to be a contender

Look at the list top centers on teams who have won the cup in the cap era:

Barkov
Eichel
Mackinnon
Point/Stamkos
O'Reilly
Kuznetsov/Backstrom
Crosby/Malkin
Toews
Kopitar
Bergeron
Datsyuk/Zetterberg
Getzlaf
E Staal

These guys were all much better centers in their primes than Suzuki.

you need atleast another Suzuki behind Suzuki to make it work

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

you need atleast another Suzuki behind Suzuki to make it work

Yeah if you had 2 Suzuki caliber centers, you are probably in good enough shape to contend, though that still would make for tough matchups vs some of the top center pairs in the league (McDavid/Draisaitl, Crosby/Malkin, Hughes/Hischier, Matthews/Tavares, Eichel/Hertl, Barkov/Bennett, Zibanejad/Trochek, Mackinnon/Mittlestadt, Stamkos/ROR etc)

 

[Sypher04]

Rather funny to see so many here tripping over themselves to talk about what a good deal this is. It may well be in time. Right now, it’s a projection that he will need to grow into. Has the potential to be a good deal for Montreal if he develops into what some people think he might (especially with a rising cap), but he’s gotta do it first before this can proclaimed as a win.

As is the usual case with young players in similar positions, in the immediate future he is overpaid.

 

[DingDongCharlie]

I’d take that contract on any-day of the week. That’s a solid signing.

 

[abj]

so Suzuki gets bumped down. If Caufield and Slafkovsky tear it up, Suzuki will easily surpass 80 points.

Caufield and Slafkovsky act with pucks.

 

[vokiel]

Why not 8 years?????

Would have been more expensive, eating into UFA years. This way he gets to keep the bigger end of the stick when hitting UFA.

 

[Baksfamous112]

Yeah if you had 2 Suzuki caliber centers, you are probably in good enough shape to contend, though that still would make for tough matchups vs some of the top center pairs in the league (McDavid/Draisaitl, Crosby/Malkin, Hughes/Hischier, Matthews/Tavares, Eichel/Hertl, Barkov/Bennett, Zibanejad/Trochek, Mackinnon/Mittlestadt, Stamkos/ROR etc)

The bolded are either not elite anymore or never really was. It’s quite funny you also mention Matthews/Tavares because Suzuki already beat them as 1C in a playoff series.

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

Yeah, my point is you need more than a top 32C if you are trying to be a contender

Look at the list top centers on teams who have won the cup in the cap era:

Barkov
Eichel
Mackinnon
Point/Stamkos
O'Reilly
Kuznetsov/Backstrom
Crosby/Malkin
Toews
Kopitar
Bergeron
Datsyuk/Zetterberg
Getzlaf
E Staal

These guys were all much better centers in their primes than Suzuki.

I don't see how Suzuki isn't on the same level or couldn't reach the same level of some of these players.
O'Reilly never had a ppg season in his career, Kuznetsov has been ppg only once in his career, and Eichel is a slightly above ppg player.

Suzuki just scored 77 pts playing with a 19-year-old Slafkovsky and a Caufield coming off shoulder surgery who shot at an extremely low 8.9%.

He didn't even play the full season with Caufield and Slafkovsky. He also played on a bottom-six powerplay.

Give him a more developed Slafkovsky and a Caufield who is not shooting at an extremely low rate for a full season, and Suzuki easily goes ppg.

Give him Demidov and Hutson + improved pp, and Suzuki would likely get to 90+ pts.

 

[Jared Dunn]

He's well worth his contract. He's every bit as good as Weber, Subban, Petry and Markov.

woooooooah there

 

[PriceIsGod]

Even if he only pans out to be a #3 D this is a solid deal considering age, years, rising cap. Awesome to have him locked up!