Canadiens: What's The Plan Now?

karine hains

Thu, Jan 30, 2025, 11:30 a.m.·3 min read

Aside from the knee injuries David Reinbacher and Patrik Laine suffered during the preseason calendar, the Montreal Canadiens had a relatively calm first half of the season compared to the past few years.

Unfortunately, just as the team started to think it could seriously compete for the playoffs, Emil Heineman suffered a freak injury that forced Martin St-Louis to juggle with his bottom six. Then, on Tuesday night, the Canadiens' most reliable defenseman, Kaiden Guhle, suffered a lacerated quad that required surgery.

All we know for now is that he will be out indefinitely. Without further details, it's hard to speculate about the length of his absence. A superficial cut could mean the absence would be measured in weeks, but if the quadricep tendon has been ruptured, it could be much longer.

Watford FC footballer Etebo missed five months of action after suffering a torn quad muscle at the end of September 2021; he returned to action in early March 2022. Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Ron Brooks suffered a ruptured right quad tendon in October 2016 and missed the last 10 weeks of the season, but was ready to return at the start of training camp in July 2017, which was 10 months of rehab.

The Heineman injury has already shown that the Canadiens lack depth up front. Martin St-Louis doesn't trust Michael Pezzetta enough to give him regular shifts, meaning the other forwards have to shoulder the load. Even when Owen Beck was called up, he was used sporadically.

As for the defense, since the acquisition of Alexandre Carrier, it has been exceptionally balanced and stable. The loss of Guhle leaves a gaping hole in the team's defense corps, which St-Louis said will need to be filled by committee since no one player can replace him. Jayden Struble has been called up for now, and it's the logical move. Logan Mailloux has not had as strong a season in the AHL this year and failed to impress when he was called up. Adam Engstrom can still use some seasoning on this side of the pond, and Struble did spend the whole season with the Habs, training, doing the drills, and learning the ins and outs of the defensive system.

Montreal scouts have been spotted in Buffalo and Philadelphia of late, but that was before Guhle suffered his injury. If his absence turns out to be lengthy, could Kent Hughes be tempted to get some reinforcement on defense? Could the Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen be an option? He has reportedly been on the trading block for some time, but Daniel Briere doesn't want to give him away. The 30-year-old six-foot-four and 208 lbs towering top-four defenseman could be a significant addition. He has two years left on a contract that pays him $5.1 M per year, and he would fill in the veteran role David Savard currently fills.

Getting some depth scoring certainly wouldn't hurt either, but that will depend on what the Habs show Hughes before the 4 Nations Face-Off. Can they stay in the mix without Guhle? Is it worth getting some reinforcement, or would it make more sense to stay put and filter offers as a seller?

The coming weeks should be exciting in Montreal...but then again, when are they not?

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