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

[The Great Weal]

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.

1) This contract buys 2 FA years
2) He's still on his ELC this upcoming season. I have a hard time seeing an established top 4 dman at 22 years old not be worth 5.5 million in today's and the future cap.

 

[Garbageyuk]

An overpayment for a career number four defenseman.

Hardly an overpayment, even if that’s all he ever is, which remains to be seen.

EDM is paying their #4D $9.25M AAV, in case you were wondering what an actual overpayment looks like.

 

[Michoulicious]

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.

To be fair, Tavares was injured in game 1 and Suzuki wasn't the team #1 C, it was Danault.

 

[The Last Red]

Every team has one or 2 very bad contract. Is probably impossible to trade Anderson right. Maybe we will bounce back next season. Gallagher is one bad injury from joining Price. So i'm not worry about his contract.

What the Habs is missing is a top 20 players in the league to be a elite team. Maybe the Habs get lucky and end up drafting James Hagens (or any top 3 player in the 2025 draft). Demidov + top 3 player in 2025 draft could help the Habs becoming a top tier team in the league.

LOL. Demidov, if he reaches his ceiling, plus what they already have in the top 6, is probably good enough. I don't want another top 3 pick, unless it's because we win the lottery and move up 9 spots.

 

[amnesiac]

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.

Suzuki's only turning 25 next month and has been on a bad team his whole career so far.... I could definitely see him being as good as ROR who was a 60 point player from age 23-27. While Suz isnt a Selke candidate yet, he was still 13th in Selke voting last season. Hes just going to improve as the team does over the next 4-5 years.

I get the whole elite 1-2C punch, its ideally what you want, but if ROR/Schenn can win a Cup with solid depth and defense, I think its definitely a possibility for Montreal.

What Im secretly hoping is that they scoop up Jim Montgomery when Boston let him go one day. I think hes Cup winning coach material with the right team (and experience).

 

[Vasilevskiy]

I think this will be a great deal in a couple years. This is a very good d-man

 

[amnesiac]

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

wow didnt realise he was a Norris finalist this year. Mustve missed that.

 

[IIxGURUxII]

A little rich atm... But a fair deal in my opinion with the team getting 2 Ufa years as well ... Should age like wine

 

[rahad]

LOL. Demidov, if he reaches his ceiling, plus what they already have in the top 6, is probably good enough. I don't want another top 3 pick, unless it's because we win the lottery and move up 9 spots.

Good enough for what? To make the playoff? if that is your goal than yes the Habs will be ''good enough''. We are far from champion tier team like Tampa Bay/Florida/Vegas.
I did say if he get ''lucky''. The chance of us drafting top 3 is very low.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Suzuki's only turning 25 next month and has been on a bad team his whole career so far.... I could definitely see him being as good as ROR who was a 60 point player from age 23-27. While Suz isnt a Selke candidate yet, he was still 13th in Selke voting last season. Hes just going to improve as the team does over the next 4-5 years.

I get the whole elite 1-2C punch, its ideally what you want, but if ROR/Schenn can win a Cup with solid depth and defense, I think its definitely a possibility for Montreal.

What Im secretly hoping is that they scoop up Jim Montgomery when Boston let him go one day. I think hes Cup winning coach material with the right team (and experience).

I don't see Suzuki as having ROR's upside. He could get there offensively, but he doesn't have that all around game.

It's certainly not impossible for them to contend with him as their top C, but they'd be the exception not the rule.

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.

There's more to being a top center than scoring points, and a lot of those guys you reference were scoring at higher levels in a lower scoring era. And Suzuki is so far from Eichel it's laughable.

The bolded are either not elite anymore or never really was.

I would take all of those 1-2 punches over two Suzuki's quite easily

It’s quite funny you also mention Matthews/Tavares because Suzuki already beat them as 1C in a playoff series.

Suzuki did not beat them, the Canadiens did, carried by Carry Price. Also, Tavares only played 1 game that series.

 

[Baksfamous112]

I would take all of those 1-2 punches over two Suzuki's quite easily


Suzuki did not beat them, the Canadiens did, carried by Carry Price. Also, Tavares only played 1 game that series.

Yeah, maybe 10 years ago.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Yeah, maybe 10 years ago.

No, I'd take them right now.

 

[Baksfamous112]

No, I'd take them right now.

Oh yeah I bet you would

 

[John Mandalorian]

Guhle was impressive when I've had the chance to watch him. Good size, good compete level, good angles, and good skater. Very nice deal for a promising young player.

Congrats, Habs fans.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Oh yeah I bet you would

I'm pretty sure the overwhelming majority of non Habs fans would take Crosby + Malkin over Suzuki + Suzuki.

 

[The Last Red]

Good enough for what? To make the playoff? if that is your goal than yes the Habs will be ''good enough''. We are far from champion tier team like Tampa Bay/Florida/Vegas.
I did say if he get ''lucky''. The chance of us drafting top 3 is very low.

You can make trades to “bolster” your top six, like Fla. and Vegas did. They will already have two top 5 picks (Demidov and Slaf) in that group, plus Suzuki, Caufield and Dach. It’s a 32 team league, you won’t have 6 superstars in your top six, get real.

 

[Baksfamous112]

I'm pretty sure the overwhelming majority of non Habs fans would take Crosby + Malkin over Suzuki + Suzuki.

At 37 and 38? I doubt that. They can’t even carry their team into a playoff spot anymore.

We’re not talking about prime Crosby and Malkin here.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

At 37 and 38? I doubt that. They can’t even carry their team into a playoff spot anymore.

We’re not talking about prime Crosby and Malkin here.

Yes, at 37 and 38. Crosby is still an elite center, miles ahead of Suzuki, and Malkin is still very good as well.

 

[JianYang]

This is a great contract for the Habs, very unlikely that he underperforms vs that AAV, while it's quite likely he's worth considerably more.

Congratulats Habs fans, you're getting your young core signed up with term. The only question that remains unanswered is "is this the right core?".

You now have these guys through 2027-28:
Suzuki
Slafkovsky
Caufield
Guhle

Unfortunately you also have Gallagher and Anderson tied up at 12M until 2026-27...

Still, that's a nice group. Add in Hutson, Reinbacher, Demidov, Dach, Newhook, Fowler, and Roy. Pretty promising group, the only gap is the lack of dominance at center - Suzuki is great but is probably better off as a 2C on a contender. Maybe Hage is a guy who can show a higher ceiling?

losing dach for 80 games was a huge blow. I really think there is something there and he's kind of fallen under the radar after the lost season. Easy to forget with dach that he's still a puppy himself.

I think Suzuki and dach is an intriguing mix of attributes down the middle, and the thing I like about Suzuki is that he's always been noticeable in his 6 rounds of playoff hockey...... definitely a gamer.

 

[HabsWhiteKnightLOL]

Surprised he didn't crack his wrist signing the contract.

Hughes having a terrible week.



Mike Matheson is the Habs' best defenseman. By a wide margin too.

The only thing Matheson is best at his turnovers/minute played.

Dear god you cant be serious

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

There's more to being a top center than scoring points, and a lot of those guys you reference were scoring at higher levels in a lower scoring era. And Suzuki is so far from Eichel it's laughable.

Well, good thing that Suzuki is a strong 2-way player.

Suzuki is laughably far from Eichel? The year Eichel won the cup, he had a very close ppg to Suzuki last season. Eichel had only 2 ppg seasons in his first 8 years in the league.

Eichel is more talented sure, but he hasn't made full use of his talent.

 

[bud12]

If Oreilly, Toews and Krejci can lift the cup, so can Suzuki

 

[Shroud of Orrin]

lol...See you Oct. 10th les Habitants...

 

[StuckOutHere]

If Oreilly, Toews and Krejci can lift the cup, so can Suzuki

And so can Brett Lebda!

 

[sfvega]

Always like him. This is a good deal for both. Montreal gets a probably sub-market AAV for a good amount of time while they push to contend, and Guhle gets paid and becomes a FA before 30 which should help him on his next contract if he pans out.