Guhle Out 4-5 Weeks After Adductor Surgery

Montreal Canadiens defenseman Kaiden Guhle will be out four to five weeks after minor offseason surgery on an adductor muscle, according to NHL.com's Status Report published Wednesday as training camps open around the league. The same board that logged Cale Makar's lighter Avalanche program put Guhle's timeline in writing for fans who were waiting on Montreal's blue-line depth chart.

Guhle had 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in 39 regular-season games last year and averaged 19:28 of ice time. He added eight assists in 19 playoff games. Missing the first stretch of camp and the early regular-season calendar is a real hit for a young defenseman Montreal has counted on to eat tough minutes.

What Martin St. Louis said

"We're going to evaluate throughout camp and we'll make decisions based on what we think, what we see," Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said about replacing Guhle. "But we have really good problems to have right now. I know 'Guhls' is out, not a great thing, but you know we have a lot of depth and guys that are knocking on the door. So we're going to evaluate and make the best decisions."

That is the coach-speak version of an open audition. Fantasy managers who drafted Guhle for dual-eligibility depth should park him until the four-to-five-week window clears and watch which left-shot defensemen grab power-play crumbs in camp. Streaming the next Montreal blueliner for the first two weeks is the practical move in shallow formats.

Four to five weeks from a mid-September Status Report points toward a mid-to-late October return if rehab stays clean. Do not invent an opening-night active stamp. Do not invent a longer IR stay the club has not announced.

Montreal opens the season soon enough that a four-to-five-week stamp covers the first handful of games if the calendar holds. Keep Guhle stashed where IR slots exist, and treat every camp update from St. Louis as the next public tell rather than a rumor mill graphic.

Camp math in Montreal

Training camp is where depth defensemen force decisions. Guhle's absence accelerates that process without rewriting Montreal's long-term pecking order once he is cleared. Watch who pairs with the top group in the first scrimmages and who logs the second power-play looks while he is sidelined.

The sourced board today is adductor surgery, four to five weeks, St. Louis leaning on depth. No invented games missed beyond that window. No claim that Montreal is shopping for a rental.

Minor surgery, clear calendar. Depth gets its chance. That is the Guhle note.

Four to five weeks. Watch camp pairings. Montreal will evaluate.