One of the players on the Montreal Canadiens who has quietly stepped up in the playoffs has been defenseman Kaiden Guhle. The Habs defenseman has continued to be a force defensively for the team in the postseason, but he has been producing more offensively in the process, showing the value that he has as a 2-way defenseman for the Canadiens. Guhle has arguably played some of the best hockey of his NHL career over the last few games.
Kaiden Guhle may not have a goal in the playoffs (yet), but he now has 8 assists in 16 games. Pretty impressive.
— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) May 24, 2026
In 16 playoff games so far, Guhle has recorded 8 assists, which is the 2nd most behind only Lane Hutson among defensemen on the Habs. In fact, he’s actually tied with Phillip Danault for 3rd among all Habs players in playoff assists. This is really impressive considering that he only had 2 goals, 9 assists, and 11 points in 39 regular seasons. Therefore, in less than half the games that he played in the regular season, Guhle is almost on the verge of eclipsing those assist and point numbers in the postseason. At the time of writing this, Guhle is currently on a 3-game assist streak. He will be hoping to extend that streak with yet another assist in tonight’s game.
Most assists in a single playoff year by a @CanadiensMTL defenceman younger than 25:
12- Lane Hutson (2026)
11- Petr Svoboda (1989)
10- Eric Desjardins (1993)
9- Chris Chelios (’84)
9- Chelios (’86)
8- Kaiden Guhle (2026 via 1 so far tonight)
8- Chelios (’85)
8- P.K. Subban (’14) pic.twitter.com/yOpdwJQHCs
— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) May 24, 2026
What this suggests about Guhle is that he is made for playoff hockey as long as he’s playing healthy. Given how he’s looked on the ice over the past 4-5 games, there is no doubt that he’s playing healthy finally after dealing with so many injuries over the past few seasons.
Guhle is also showing exactly why he is a valuable piece to the Habs in the post-season with his underrated ability to start offensive plays. The majority of his assists are secondary and oftentimes linked on plays involving Danault, but Guhle is very important in creating the scoring chances where he has gotten his assists. Just looking at the Josh Anderson goal that he assisted on in Game 2.
– This Habs goal starts with a Taylor Hall turnover
– Kaiden Guhle intercepts the puck and attacks right away
– Phil Danault with a great pass, he now has 4 points in 3 straight games
– The Habs got their first shot but Big Josh Anderson made it count pic.twitter.com/2wPPP6SEZJ
— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) May 23, 2026
On Anderson’s first goal of Game 2, Guhle intercepted a clearing attempt and then skated up to the slot, where he sent the puck to Danault, who gave the puck to Anderson in front of the net. This isn’t just a simple secondary assist for Guhle; it was one where he did a lot of good work to make it happen. He essentially showed how well he can defend in the offensive zone along the line while also showing he can be good transitioning the puck in the offensive zone when the opportunity is there. Overall, Guhle played a massive role in that goal.
The same can be said about the game-opening goal in Game 7 against the Buffalo Sabres when he smartly wristed a shot towards the net to have it tip off Danault and in. Those types of plays go underrated, but it’s almost like Guhle knew exactly what he was doing to help Danault get the goal.
𝗚𝗢𝗔𝗟 | 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗬𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗦
🚨 | Phillip Danault (1)
🍎 | Kaiden Guhle (6)
🍏 | Alexandre Texier (4)
🆚 | Buffalo Sabres
🗓️ | May 18, 2026 pic.twitter.com/G28Sog1548
— Canadiens 🎥 (@habsvidsroom) May 18, 2026
Guhle’s been strong defensively as well, which was expected of him, but just like some of the forward depth that normally doesn’t produce a lot in the regular season, he has upped his offensive game, which has made him quietly one of the best playoff performers on the Habs since the series with the Sabres.
What are your thoughts on Guhle’s newfound offence that has been unlocked in the postseason?
