*Photo from ESPN*
The Montreal Canadiens and defenseman Kaiden Guhle have agreed to a 6 year, $33.3 million contract extension, according to an announcement by the Canadiens.
Guhle will play out the coming season on the final year of his 3 year entry level contract, making just over $860,000 before his extension kicks in. He would've been an RFA at the end of the coming year, but that has now been avoided.
Asked about signing his deal, Guhle said "We've basically had the same group for two years now, and from this offseason it looks like there weren't too many big changes and we'll have a lot of the same guys coming in, so three years in a row with basically the same kind of guys. And I love the city. The city has been nothing but great to me. The fans have been unbelievable and definitely the best fans in the League, if not in sports. I think it's just the city and the guys, and I believe in this group so much and I think we'll be able to make a big splash here in the next year and really start to make a push for it."
Last season, Guhle set career highs in goals, assists, and points in his second NHL season. He ended the year with 6 goals and 16 assists for 22 points, notching a -8 rating while averaging 20:51 of ice time per game in 70 games.
Guhle's new contract kicks in at the start of the 2025-2026 season. Starting when he's 23 going on 24, he'll make $5.5 million annually through the end of the 2030-2031 season. In the last two seasons, he has a modified no trade clause in the form of a 5 team no trade list before he can become a UFA at the end of his contract.
The Canadiens drafted Guhle in the first round of the 2020 NHL draft and has already become a mainstay on defense in Montreal. He played with Mike Matheson on the team's top defense pairing last season and posted strong underlying numbers despite the tough matchups he was tested with.
Since being drafted, Guhle has two seasons in the NHL under his belt, making his debut in 2022-2023. He has 10 goals and 30 assists for 40 points to his name, averaging 20:43 of ice time per game while posting a -27 rating in 114 games.
In addition to signing Guhle long term, the Canadiens also signed blueliners Justin Barron and Arber Xhekaj to two year contracts.
Comments
Post a Comment