The Canadiens would have acquired a new and younger Ryan McDonagh on defense by deciding to select Kaiden Guhle in 2020

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Elias Edmonson
December 3, 2023 (1:48 PM)

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Despite a rather ordinary start to the season for the Canadiens, the team's leaders do not seem too discouraged and it can be said that the rebuilding process is on track in Montreal.

Among the positives this year, there is the excellent performance of Kaiden Guhle and we can thank Marc Bergevin for selecting him in the first round of the 2020 draft.

The young defender has so far collected seven points in 17 games, which is not earth-shattering, I admit, but it is his plus-minus differential of plus five that impresses some experts, including the CH's game commentator on TVA Sports.

In his most recent column published on the TVA Sports.ca website, Félix Séguin said he was impressed with his play and even made a comparison with a former first-round pick of the Canadiens.

Here are his explanations:

When I watch him on the ice or listen to him speak in the locker room, I see in him the defender Ryan McDonagh.

McDonagh is not the most spectacular. No. However, I have always believed that the efficiency and solidity of his game have propelled him among the most reliable defenders in the NHL. At one point in his career, I thought McDonagh was one of the best defensive defenders in the league.

These are words that will reassure Canadiens fans coming from someone who has the chance to see him evolve in every game.

Subsequently, Séguin even declared that without the contribution of the CH's first-round pick in 2007, he wonders if the Tampa Bay Lightning would have won two consecutive Stanley Cups.

Indeed, I wonder if the Tampa Bay Lightning would have won their two Stanley Cups if he had not been there to support Victor Hedman. The debate is interesting. McDonagh is a leader with his play on the ice and his presence in the locker room. He was also the captain of the New York Rangers before being traded to the Lightning.

Even though it is a comparison, it remains nevertheless that Kaiden Guhle is without a doubt, for the moment, at the top of the hierarchy of young defenders of the organization and we understand even better why Kent Hughes refused to include him in a transaction involving Pierre-Luc Dubois.

The only hope remaining is that Guhle stays off the injured list and that the Canadiens' GM resists the urge to trade him, unlike Bob Gainey did with McDonagh.